Columbia  (HnttJer^ftp 

mtljeiCttpofaHmgork 

THE  LIBRARIES 


Bequest  of 

Frederic  Bancroft 
1860-1945 


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ROBERT    FULTON 

FROM  TH€  ORIGINAL  PAINTING  BY  HIMSELF  IM   THE  POSSESSION  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY  OF  MECHANICAL  ENGINEERS 


THE  STORY 

OF 

ROBERT  FULTON 


BY 

PEYTON  F.  MILLER 


XLhc  ItnfcfterbocRer  press 


NEW  YOjR-K 


'5l\^^>.h 


Copyright,  iqo8 

BY 

PEYTON  F.  MILLER 


<     <  *  •    *         a 


/3ibc  IhtifcJ^crbflcfter  Jitess,  IRew  J^orft 


<      c       ' 


PREFACE 

The  author  is  indebted  for  the  facts 
detailed  in  this  book  to  the  biographies  of 
Robert  Fulton  by  Cadwallader  D.  Colden, 
James  Ren  wick,  J.  Franklin  Reigart,  and 
Robert  H.  Thurston,  The  Life  and  Letters  of 
Joel  Barlow,  by  Charles  Burr  Todd,  Lodge's 
Portraits  of  Illustrious  Personages  of  Great 
Britain,  the  Memoirs  of  the  Duchesse  de 
Gontaut,  Clermont  or  Livingston  Manor,  by 
Thomas  Streatfield  Clarkson,  articles  in 
Cassier's  Magazine  by  H.  N.  Dickinson  and 
Henry  Harrison  Suplee,  and  information 
given  by  D.  McRa  Livingston,  Esq.,  and 
other  members  of  the  Livingston  and  Lud- 
low families,  and  books  and  pamphlets  in 
the  private  library  of  Mrs.  John  V.  L. 
Pruyn  of  Albany,  New  York. 

P.  F.  M. 

iii 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  I 
The  Fulton  family — Boyhood  of  Robert  Fulton     .  .      i-8 

CHAPTER  II 

Departure  for  England — Acquaintance  with  Benjamin 
West — Artistic  labors — A  civil  engineer — Devotes 
time  to  scientific  pursuits  and  inventions        .  .   9—17 

CHAPTER  III 

Visits  France  to  introduce   torpedo — Friendship  with 

Joel  Barlow        ......  18-23 

CHAPTER  IV 

The  Duchesse   de   Gontaut's    Recollections  of  Robert 

Fulton       .......  34—29 

CHAPTER  V 

In  France — Experiments  with  torpedoes  and  sub- 
marine boat — Return  to  England  .  .  30-39 

CHAPTER  VI 

Robert  Fulton  and  Chancellor  Livingston  meet  in  Paris 
— They  experiment  with  steamboats  and  form 
partnership — Fulton  returns  to  England  and  sails 
for  United  States         .....  40-55 


vi  Contents 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VII 

Arrives  in  New  York — Efforts  to  raise  money  for  build- 
ing steamboat   ......  .56-62 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Received  with  homage — Employed  by  Federal  Govern- 
ment to  experiment  with  torpedoes — Trial  trip  of 
the  Clermont      ......  .63-68 

CHAPTER  IX 

First  voyage  of  the  Clermont  to  Albany — Letters  of 

Fulton — Description  of  the  Q^rmoni     .  .  -69-77 

CHAPTER  X 

The  Clermont  rebuilt  and  name  changed  to  the  North 

River — Further  legislation  .  .  .  .78-81 

CHAPTER  XI 

Patents — Livingston  concedes  to  Fulton  invention  of 
successful  steamboat — Litigation  as  to  patents — 
-Boats  sailing  Hudson  River  and  their  speed — 
Ferryboats         ......  .82-87 

CHAPTER  XII 

Exposure  of  perpetual-motion  fraud — British  attempt  to 
capture  Fulton — Claim  of  W.  Stevens  to  invention 
of  successful  steamboat  denounced        .  .  .88-98 

CHAPTER  XIII 
Robert  Fulton's  death — Funeral — Will        .  ,.  99-104 


Contents  vii 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XIV 

Fulton's      marriage  —  Descendants  —  Description      of 

him  .......        105-110 

Index     .........     iii 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Robert  Fulton  ....  Frontispiece 

Robert  Fulton  ,,.....     102 


IX 


The  Story  of  Robert  Fulton 


CHAPTER   I 

THE  FULTON  FAMILY — BOYHOOD  OF  ROBERT 

FULTON 

Robert  Pulton,  the  inventor,  was  a 
descendant  of  the  Reverend  Doctor  Robert 
Fulton,  who,  on  September  8,  1614,  was 
appointed  by  the  Privy  Council  Chaplain 
to  Lady  Arabella  Stuart,  the  only  child  of 
Charles,  the  fifth  Earl  of  Lenox,  who  was 
an  uncle  of  James  the  First  and  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  Henry  the  Seventh.  She  had 
been  obnoxious  to  Queen  Elizabeth  and  also 
to  King  James,  who  dreaded  the  supposed 
danger  of  her  leaving  legitimate  offspring, 
and  had  secretly  married  William  Seymour, 
first  Marquis  of  Hertford.     As  soon  as  their 


2  The  Story  of 

marriage  was  discovered  he  was  committed 
to  the  Tower  of  London  and  Lady  Arabella 
given  into  the  custody  of  Sir  Thomas  Parry  of 
Lambeth.  They  arranged  to  fly  to  France. 
Seymour  escaped  but  his  wife  was  captured 
and  committed  to  the  Tower,  where  she 
ended  her  days.  This  Robert  Fulton  was 
clearly  a  man  of  importance,  having  been 
associated  with  a  person  of  such  distinguished 
position  in  such  a  confidential  relation. 
His  descendants  were,  in  Cromwell's  time, 
driven  from  Scotland  and  went  to  Ireland, 
and  established  themselves  near  Kilkenny. 
Robert  Fulton,  the  father  of  the  inventor, 

r 

'  arrived  in  this  country  from  Kilkenny  about 
1750.  He  settled  in  Philadelphia  and,  after 
engaging  in  mercantile  pursuits  there  for 
several  years,  in  1759,  having  disposed  of  his 
business,  moved  with  his  family  to  a  farm 
he  had  bought  at  Little  Britain,  Lancaster 
County,  Pennsylvania.  He  had  married 
Mary  Smith,  who  was  bom  in  Philadelphia 
and  was  of  Irish  descent.  Mr.  Fulton  died  in 
1768,  leaving  a  widow,  two  sons,  and  three 


Robert  Fulton  3 

daughters  in  very  poor  circumstances.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  were  Protestants  and  appear 
to  have  had  a  fair  amount  of  education. 

Their  son  Robert  was  bom  November  14/1 
1765.  In  1766  the  farm  was  sold  and  the 
family  moved  to  the  village  of  Lancaster. 
Robert  was  not  sent  to  school  imtil  he  was 
eight  years  old,  his  mother  having  taught 
him  to  read  and  write  and  the  rudiments 
of  arithmetic.  Unlike  most  children,  he 
worked  incessantly  and  never  seemed  to 
find  time  for  play.  His  alertness  of  mind 
asserted  itself  from  his  earliest  years,  and 
the  quickness  of  perception  which  enabled 
him  to  discern  and  seize  anything  that  would 
assist  in  his  pursuits  was  marvellous.  One 
might  well  know  nothing  would  escape  this 
bright  boy  that  would  be  useful  to  him.  He 
showed  a  decided  talent  for  drawing  and 
painting  when  very  young  and  threw  himself 
into  artistic  efforts  with  enthusiasm  and 
some  of  the  work  done  in  those  early  years 
he  thought  as  well  of  as  any  he  afterwards 
did. 


4  The  Story  of 

His  career  at  school  was  not  character- 
ized by  a  close  application  to  his  studies.  He 
was  industrious  but  not  with  books.  He 
could  not  be  tempted  from  his  pursuits 
but  was  engrossed  by  them  when  his  interest 
was  aroused.  On  one  occasion,  after  having 
seemed  especially  absorbed  in  some  under- 
taking, he  exhibited  a  lead  pencil  he  had 
manufactured  which  was  of  the  finest  quality 
and  was  quickly  copied  by  his  fellow-students. 
On  being  remonstrated  with  by  his  teacher 
for  neglecting  his  books,  he  replied,  "My 
head  is  so  full  of  thoughts  of  my  own  that 
I  haven't  room  for  the  thoughts  from  dusty 
books."  As  a  boy  he  displayed  great  in- 
terest in  machinery  and  never  missed  an 
opportunity  of  being  with  men  who  were 
manufacturing  tools  or  working  with  them. 
He  soon  became  known  to  all  the  mechanics 
in  the  vicinity  and  they  were  always  glad 
to  welcome  him  to  their  workshops,  and 
sometimes  pleased  to  avail  themselves  of  his 
suggestions.  Some  who  were  engaged  in 
mounting  rifles   relied   on   him   for  designs 


Robert  Fulton  5 

in  ornamenting  them  and  sketches  of  the 
sizes  and  shapes,  size  of  the  bore  and  balls, 
and  calculations  of  the  force  and  distances 
they  would  carry.  He  would  frequently 
accompany  them  to  a  range  where  his  calcu- 
lations would  be  tested  by  shooting  at  a 
target. 

His  spirit  was  always  exalted  and  appealed 
to  by  natural  and  artistic  beauties.  He 
was  full  of  affection  for  his  family  and  willing 
to  yield  to  the  commands  of  his  superiors. 
His  love  for  his  country  was  unbounded  and 
exhibited  itself  in  his  youth  and  all  through 
his  life. 

Like  the  boys  of  that  period,  in  fact 
like  boys  in  the  United  States  at  all 
periods,  he  revelled  in  celebrating  the  anni- 
versary of  our  Independence,  the  Fourth  of 
July.  It  was  at  that  time  customary  for  the 
people  to  illuminate  their  houses,  and  candles, 
which  were  expensive  and  difficult  for  the 
ordinary  boy  to  procure,  were  much  in  de- 
mand. Robert,  in  anticipation  of  the  ap- 
proaching  celebration,  had   accumulated   a 


v«.. 


6  The  Story  of 

goodly  number,  when  a  notice  was  posted  by 
the  authorities  forbidding  the  people  to  illum- 
inate their  houses.  He  immediately  took  his 
candles  to  the  store  and  exchanged  them 
for  gunpowder  and  sheets  of  pasteboard, 
which  he  directed  the  shopkeeper  not  to 
roll.  Upon  being  asked  how  he  was  going 
to  use  the  powder  and  paper,  he  said  he 
proposed  to  make  candles  which  he  would 
shoot  through  the  air  on  the  night  of  the 
Fourth.  He  was  laughed  at,  but  his  efforts 
were  successful,  his  celebration  being  more 
glorious  than  the  town  had  ever  before  wit- 
nessed, and  in  consequence  the  thirteen- 
year-old  boy  became  quite  a  local  celebrity. 
His  society  when  a  boy  seemed  always 
much  sought  after  by  men,  who,  while  glad  to 
have  him  about  when  they  toiled,  also  wel- 
comed him  at  other  times.  He  frequently 
accompanied  another  boy  and  his  father  on 
fishing  excursions.  They  went  in  a  flat-boat, 
which  the  boys  propelled  with  long  poles. 
Young  Fulton  found  this  very  laborious,  so  he 
invented  paddle-wheels  which  were  manip- 


Robert  Fulton  7 

ulated  by  a  crank  and  could  be  attached 
and  detached  with  ease. 

In  his  boyhood  the  Revolutionary  War 
stirred  the  whole  community,  and  in  his 
neighborhood  a  number  of  Hessian  soldiers 
were  stationed.  There  were  frequent  col- 
lisions between  them  and  the  townspeople 
and  Fulton  had  held  them  up  to  derision 
in  caricatures  he  had  made  of  them.  There 
was  so  much  disorder,  it  was  finally  arranged 
that  at  night  the  Hessians  and  townspeople 
should  neither  cross  a  rope  stretched  at  a 
place  agreed  upon.  Fulton  drew  a  picture 
representing  the  townspeople  on  the  Hessian 
side  of  the  rope  and  engaged  in  annihilating 
the  latter.  It  was  displayed  in  a  public 
place  and  much  admired.  In  fact  it  aroused 
the  people  so  much  that  that  night  the  rope 
was  crossed  and  a  conflict  took  place,  which 
was  only  stopped  by  the  interference  of  the 
authorities. 

When   Fulton   was   seventeen   years  old,  ^ 
his  mother  apprenticed  him  to  a  jeweller 
in  Philadelphia.     In  this  new  field,  he  con- 


8  Story  of  Robert  Fulton 

tinued  his  habits  of  industry  and  in  addition 
to  his  regular  work  painted  portraits,  mini- 
atures, and  landscapes.  At  the  end  of  four 
years  with  the  money  thus  earned  he  bought 
a  small  farm  in  Washington  County,  Penn- 
sylvania, upon  which  he  settled  his  mother. 
He  spent  his  twenty-first  birthday  with  his 
family,  and,  after  installing  them  on  the 
new  farm,  went  to  the  Hot  Springs  of 
Virginia  which  are  in  the  vicinity  for  the 
benefit  of  his  health,  having  suffered  some- 
what from  a  pulmonary  trouble.      At  this 

r  place  he  was  thrown  in  with  a  superior 
class  of  people  who  became  interested  in 
the  young  artist  and  he  received  orders 
which  enabled  him  to  do  considerable  work 
with  his  brush.  His  new  friends  and  patrons 
advised  him  to  take  a  sea-voyage  and  go  to 
England  and  study  under  Benjamin  West 
and   gave  him  letters  introducing  him   to 

K  Mr.  West. 


CHAPTER  II 

DEPARTURE  FOR  ENGLAND — ACQUAINTANCE 
WITH  BENJAMIN  WEST ARTISTIC  LA- 
BORS— A      CIVIL     ENGINEER DEVOTES 

TIME     TO     SCIENTIFIC     PURSUITS     AND 
INVENTIONS. 

In  1738,  in  Chester  County,  which  adjoined 
the  one  in  which  was  the  birthplace  of  Robert 
Fulton,  a  son  was  born  to  a  Quaker  family, 
whose  circumstances  were  quite  similar  to 
those  of  Fulton's.  This  little  boy  at  an 
early  age  manifested  a  remarkable  talent 
for  drawing  and  painting.  Although  the 
neighborhood  was  inhabited  almost  entirely 
by  Quakers  and  there  were  no  incentives 
to  artistic  pursuits,  nothing  could  turn  him 
aside,  and  Benjamin  West,  young  in  years, 
unaided  by  friends,  hampered  by  the  preju- 
dices of  those  about  him,  and  deprived  of  all 
the  helps  and  inducements  to  an  artistic  ca- 
reer, persevered  in  his  purpose.     He  painted 

9 


lo  The  Story  of 

portraits  for  a  time  in  Philadelphia,  and 
as  soon  as  he  had  saved  enough  money,  went 
to  Italy,  where,  with  good  letters  of  intro- 
duction, an  attractive  appearance,  and  agree- 
able manners,  he  was  made  much  of  by 
people  of  the  highest  rank.  He  finally 
settled  in  London  w^here  he  became  famous. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Royal 
Academy  and  was  in  1792  elected  its  presi- 
dent, which  office  he  retained  for  many  years. 
The  subjects  of  his  paintings  were  chiefly  bib- 
lical and  historical  and  many  of  them  were 
executed  on  commissions  from  George  HI. 

He  introduced  the  innovation  of  paint- 
ing historic  subjects  as  nearly  as  he  could 
with  truth  and  adherence  to  the  facts,  in 
opposition  to  dressing  the  figures  in  the 
costumes  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  or 
portraying  them  as  naked  as  gods.  His  pro- 
ductions were  great  in  dimensions  and  num- 
bers and  at  the  time  aroused  enthusiasm 
and  interest,  but  do  not  rank  high  in  the 
opinion  of  art  critics  of  the  present.  A 
portrait  by  him  of   Robert  Fulton  is  owned 


Robert  Fulton  li 

by  Robert  Pulton  Ludlow,  a  grandson  of  I 
the  subject,  and  adorns  his  house  at  Clav-' 
erack.  New  York. 

We  can  understand  how  much  may  have 
been  put  into  this  portrait  when  we  learn 
the  relations  which  existed  between  the 
artist  and  Fulton.  The  latter  having  decided 
to  go  to  England  to  pursue  his  art  studies, 
on  arriving  presented  the  letters  introducing 
and  recommending  him  to  Mr.  West,  one 
of  which  was  from  Benjamin  Franklin,  whose  | 
acquaintance  he  had  made  while  living  in  ^ 
Philadelphia.  The  reception  he  met  far 
exceeded  his  expectations.  The  famous  and 
well-established  artist  was  more  than  cordial 
to  the  struggling  young  American,  who 
had  nothing  to  recommend  him  save  his 
talents,  devotion  to  art,  ambition,  attractive 
person,  and  charming  manners.  He  lodged 
while  in  London  at  67  Margaret  Street,  Caven- 
dish Square,  and  was  received  by  Mr.  West 
as  if  he  had  been  his  son  or  a  member  of  his 
family ;  he  instructed  him  in  the  art  in  which 
he  was  then  regarded  as  so  proficient  and 


12  The  Story  of 

introduced  him  to  a  class  of  people  an  as- 
sociation with  whom  was  an  advantage 
from  every  point  of  view  for  one  who  was 
poor,  struggling,  and  unknown.  Fulton  re- 
mained with  Mr.  West  for  several  years. 
He  was  imdoubtedly  successful  as  an  ar- 
tist, for  in  1 791  and  1793  portraits  by 
him  were  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Academy 
and  in  1791  there  were  two  portraits  and 
two  genre  pictures  of  his  at  the  exhibition 
of  the  society  of  artists  of  Great  Britain. 

While  there  were  at  that  time  many  artis- 
tic treasures  in  England,  they  w^ere  scattered 
all  over  the  land  in  private  collections  and 
there  were  no  public  art  galleries  of  im- 
portance in  London.  On  leaving  Mr.  West, 
Fulton,  having  procured  the  necessary  letters 
of  introduction,  set  forth  on  a  visit  to  various 
private  collections  of  works  of  art.  Shortly 
after  he  appears  to  have  been  at  Exeter  in 
the  county  of  Devon  and  for  a  while  living 
at  Powderham  Castle,  the  chief  seat  of  the 
Courtenays,  the  Earls  of  Devon,  engaged 
in  copying  some  of  the  paintings  it  contained. 


Robert  Fulton  '  13 

His  residence  there  seems  to  have  filled  him 
with  a  sense  of  obligation,  for  afterwards 
when  living  in  New  York  and  at  the  height 
of  his  fame  and  prosperity,  he  returned 
the  favors  he  had  received  by  kindness  and 
hospitality  to  a  member  of  that  family  who 
had  fled  from  his  own  land  in  disgrace  and 
humiliation  and  against  whom  almost  every 
door  was  closed. 

During  Mr.  Fulton's  residence  of  two 
years  in  the  vicinity  of  Exeter  he  ex- 
tended his  acquaintance  in  a  way  that  was 
of  advantage  to  him  in  his  subsequent 
career.  It  seems  as  if  at  this  period,  Art,  to 
which  he  had  been  so  entirely  devoted,  did 
not  give  to  him  all  the  results  and  scope  he 
had  hoped  for,  and  that  his  active  mind 
and  taste  for  experimenting  and  invention 
were  asserting  themselves  and  drawing  him 
away  from  his  former  mistress. 

Among  the  men  with  whom  he  appears  then 
to  have  been  most  intimately  associated  was 
the  Duke  of  Bridgewater,  who  at  that  time\ 
was  in  the  possession  of   vast  wealth,  accu-  ^ 


14  The  Story  of 

mulated  by  him  from  the  improvement 
of  his  estate,  which  was  rich  in  mines.  He 
had  done  this  by  canals  and  was  regarded 
as  the  original  promoter  of  the  canal  system 
which  had  enriched  and  developed  England. 
He  seems  to  have  induced  Fulton  to  abandon 
his  career  as  an  artist  and  become  a  civil 
engineer.  We  find  him  living  at  Birmingham 
and  engaged  at  work  on  one  of  the  canals  then 
being  built  in  that  vicinity  although  in  a 
subordinate  position.  He  also  seems  to 
have  been  on  terms  of  intimacy  with 
Lord  Stanhope,  the  third  Earl,  who  was 
a  man  of  talent  and  had  exhibited  skill 
as  an  engineer,  and  had  also  experimen- 
ted in  applying  steam  to  navigation,  by 
using  an  apparatus  modelled  after  the 
foot  of  a  water  fowl,  and  in  1793  entered 
into  a  correspondence  upon  the  subject 
with  Fulton,  who  foresaw  and  predicted 
the  failure  of  his  experiment.  In  a  let- 
ter to  Lord  Stanhope  of  October  7,  1793, 
he  refers  to  the  "moving  of  ships  by 
means  of  steam"  as  "a  subject  on  which  I 


Robert  Fulton  15 

have  made  important  discoveries."  This 
friendship  was  a  lasting  one,  as  indicated 
by  a  frequent  interchange  of  letters,  and 
was  of  much  service  to  Fulton  in  transactions 
he  afterwards  had  with  the  British  govern-  j 
ment. 

Mr.  Fulton*s  writings  and  inventions  in- 
dicate an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  steam-engine.  John  Watt, 
who  by  this  time  had  so  improved  it  as 
to  make  it  of  practical  use  universally,  was-j 
one  of  Mr.  Fulton's  Birmingham  associates. 
His  correspondence  with  the  inventor  shows 
that  they  were  on  confidential  and  intimate 
terms.  The  following  letter  was  written  by 
him  to  Messrs.  Boulton  &  Watt: 

"  Manchester,  Nov.  4,  1794. 

"  Gentlemen: 

**  I  shall  esteem  it  a  favour  to  be  informed 
of  the  Expences  of  a  Steam  Engine  with  a 
Rotative  movement  of  the  purchase  of  3 
or  4  horses,  which  is  designed  to  be  placed 
in  a  Boat.  You  will  Will  [sic]  be  so  good 
as    to   mention  what  sized   boat   it  would 


i6  The  Story  of 

occupy,  as  I  wish  to  have  it  in  as  little  space 
as  Possible,  and  what  you  consive  will  be 
the  Expence  w^hen  finished  Compleat  in  the 
Boat.  Whether  you  have  one  ready  of  the 
dimentions  specified  or  how  soon  one  might 
be  finished.  With  Weight  of  Coals  which 
it  will  consume  in  12  hours,  and  what 
Quantity  of  purchase  you  allow  to  Each 
horse,  as  I  am  anxious  to  supply  some  En- 
gines of  the  above  dimentions  as  soon  as 
Possible.     Your  Emediate  Answer  will  much 

oblige  Your 

"  Most  obedient  and  very  humble 
Servant,  Robt.  Fulton. 

**  Bridgewater  Arms,  Manchester." 

This  period  was  certainly  a  very  busy  one 
for  Fulton.  His  attention  seems  to  have 
been  directed  largely  towards  the  improve- 
ment of  canals,  which  he  believed  in  as 
a  means  of  developing  the  country  far  in 
advance  of  turnpikes,  and  he  applied  his 
mind  intently  to  the  problem  of  making 
them  practicable  in  hilly  and  mountainous 
locaHties.     In    1794  a  patent  was  granted 


Robert  Fulton  17 

to  him  by  the  government  of  Great  Britain 
for  a  device  intended  to  supersede  locks  on 
canals  by  a  plane  of  double  incline,  which 
was  contained  in  a  book  on  Inland  Naviga- 
tion, published  by  him  in  1796.  He  also 
obtained  patents  for  a  machine  for  spinning 
flax  and  one  for  twisting  ropes  and  a  mill  ; 
for  sawing  and  polishing  marble.  He  was 
a  man  of  indefatigable  industry  and  carefully 
and  thoroughly  worked  out  as  far  as  possible 
the  various  inventions  he  attempted.  It 
has  been  stated  that  he  never  made  a  model 
of  an  invention  until  he  had  completed  a 
drawing  which  showed  every  part  projected 
on  the  proper  scale. 


CHAPTER  III 

VISITS     FRANCE     TO     INTRODUCE     TORPEDO — 
FORMS    FRIENDSHIP   WITH   JOEL    BARLOW 

Robert  Fulton  was  always  a  loyal  Amer- 
ican and  labored  with  a  view  of  returning  to 
the  United  States.  He  gave  much  thought  to 
questions  of  government  and  believed  that 
*'The  whole  interior  arrangements  of  gov- 
ernments should  be  to  promote  and  diffuse 
knowledge  and  industry ;  their  whole  exterior 
negotiations  to  establish  a  social  intercourse 
w4th  each  other  and  to  give  free  circulation 
to  the  whole  produce  of  virtuous  industry." 
He  also  believed  that  the  old  world  war 
system  was  the  cause  of  the  misery  of  the 
greatest  number  of  its  people.  In  one  of  his 
manuscripts,  this  passage  is  found:  ** After 
this  I  was  convinced  that  society  must  pass 
through  ages  of  progressive  improvement 
before   the   freedom   of   the   seas   could   be 

l8 


Story  of  Robert  Fulton         19 

established  by  an  agreement  of  nations 
that  it  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole:  I 
saw  that  the  growing  wealth  and  commerce, 
and  the  increasing  population  of  the  United 
States  would  compel  them  to  look  for  a 
protection  by  sea,  and  perhaps  drive  them 
to  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  European 
measures,  by  establishing  a  navy.  Seeing 
this,  I  turned  my  whole  attention  to  find 
out  means  of  destroying  such  engines  of 
oppression  by  some  method  which  would 
put  it  out  of  the  power  of  any  nation  to 
maintain  such  a  system,  and  would  compel 
every  government  to  adopt  the  simple  prin- 
ciples of  education,  industry,  and  a  free 
circulation  of  its  produce." 

Influenced  by  such  considerations  Mr. 
Fulton  had  been  engaged  for  some  time  in  per- 
fecting an  invention  for  the  blowing  up  of  ves- 
sels by  attaching  under  the  water  a  copper  ^ 
canister  of  gunpowder,  to  be  discharged  by  a 
gunlock  and  clockwork.  This  he  called  a  tor- 
pedo and  with  the  view  of  having  it  adopted 
by  the  government  of  France,  he  left  England 


20  The  Story  of 

for  Paris  in  1797.  Among  the  letters  of 
introduction  he  took  with  him  was  one  to 
^Joel  Barlow.  Mr.  Barlow  was  bom  in  Con- 
'  necticut  in  1754,  and  graduated  from  Yale 
College  in  1778.  For  several  years  he  de- 
voted himself  to  literary  pursuits,  and  in 
1788  went  abroad  as  the  representative  of 
a  great  American  land  company.  He  carried 
letters  introducing  him  to  many  prominent 
people  in  Paris  and  elsewhere.  The  com- 
pany did  not  prove  to  be  a  success,  but 
Barlow  continued  to  live  abroad.  He  devoted 
his  time  to  literature  and  associated  on  terms 
of  intimacy  with  many  of  the  most  distin- 
guished people  of  Paris  and  London.  In 
1795  he  was  sent  by  the  United  States  on 
a  mission  to  Algiers  to  secure  the  release 
of  a  number  of  our  citizens  who  had  been 
captured  by  pirates  and  were  held  as  prison- 
ers. This  mission  being  successful  after  a 
residence  in  Algiers  of  seventeen  months, 
during  which  there  was  a  visitation  of  the 
plague,  he  returned  to  Paris.  His  pen  was 
constantly  in  use  for  the  benefit  of  his  country 


Robert  Fulton  21 

and  he  exerted  great  influence  in  pacifying 
France  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the 
treaty  with  England,  under  which  the  United 
States  agreed  to  observe  a  strict  neutrality^ 
in  regard  to  France. 

Mr.  Fulton  and  Mr.  Barlow  became  ac- 
quainted shortly  after  his  arrival,  and  com- 
menced an  intimacy  which  lasted  until  the 
death  of  the  latter.  Fulton  lived  in  his 
house  for  seven  years  and  had  the  advantage 
of  meeting  his  acquaintances  and  of  always 
possessing  an  admiring,  congenial,  and  de- 
voted friend.  They  seemed  to  enter  into 
each  other's  plans  with  the  utmost  enthu- 
siasm and  loyalty.  The  Columbiad,  or  Vis- 
ion of  Columbus,  a  national  and  historical 
poem,  written  by  Mr.  Barlow,  was  dedicated 
to  Robert  Fulton,  who  is  described  as  the 
*'dear  friend"  of  the  author.  The  twelve 
plates  illustrating  this  work  cost  five  thou- 
sand dollars,  were  designed  and  published 
by  Mr.  Fulton  at  his  own  expense  and 
in  his  will  he  bequeathed  them  to  Mrs. 
Barlow,    and    also    provided    that    an    in- 


2  2  The  Story  of 

debtedness  of  two  thousand  dollars  to  him 
from  the  estate  of  Mr.  Barlow,  who  died 
without  children,  should  not  be  collected 
until  after  her  death. 

Mr.  Barlow  returned  to  the  United  States 
and  in  i8i  i  was  appointed  Minister  to  France 
succeeding  General  John  Armstrong.  He 
died  December  24,  181 2,  at  Zamowice,  a 
village  near  Cracow,  on  his  return  from 
Wilna,  whither  he  had  been  summoned  for 
a  conference  with  the  Emperor  Napoleon. 

During  Mr.  Fulton's  residence  in  England 
and  France,  he  commanded  the  finest  scien- 
tific, artistic,  literary,  and  diplomatic  society. 
After  going  to  Paris,  he  learned  French  and 
acquired  a  fair  knowledge  of  German  and 
Italian.  He  also  studied  higher  mathematics, 
physics,  chemistry,  and  perspective  and 
such  other  sciences  as  were  connected 
with  his  experiments  in  steam  and  subma- 
rine navigation  and  torpedoes.  He  had 
already  acquired  much  knowledge  of  the 
steam-engine  and  its  application  to  navi- 
gation,  and  it  seems  as  if  he  were  simply 


Robert  Fulton  23 

waiting  to  be  brought  into  relation  with 
the  right  person,  to  evolve  from  his  great 
brain  the  invention  that  has  done  so  much 
for  the  development  of  his  own  and  other 
lands  and  for  the  comfort  and  convenience 
of  the  people.  At  a  dinner  given  by  Mr. 
Barlow  during  Mr.  Fulton's  residence  in 
his  family,  he  sat  next  to  Prince  Talley- 
rand, and  conversed  with  him  at  great 
length  about  his  inventions,  especially  all 
he  expected  to  accomplish  with  the  steam- 
boat. The  Prince  was  charmed  with  Mr. 
Fulton's  appearance  and  manners,  and  in- 
terested in  his  conversation,  but  said  after- 
wards he  was  overwhelmed  with  sadness, 
for  he  could  not  but  feel  that  he  was  mad. 
The  house  in  which  Robert  Fulton  lived 
while  in  Paris,  No.  50  rue  Vaugirard,  was 
occupied  by  General  Armstrong  while  Min- 
ister to  France,  and  he  found  the  walls  of 
the  rooms  used  by  Fulton  covered  with  plans 
of  steamboats  he  had  drawn. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  DUCHESSE  DE  GONTAUT's  RECOLLECTIONS 
OF  ROBERT  FULTON 

It  is  interesting  to  get  a  glimpse  of  Robert 

Fulton  while  abroad  as  we  do  in  the  Memoirs 

of   the   Duchesse  de   Gontaut.     Her  father, 

Count    Montault    Navailles,    superintended 

the    education    of    the   Children    of    France 

(Louis  XVI,  Louis  XVIII,  and  Charles  X). 

She  was  bom  in  1773  and  in  1 793  was  married 

to   the  Vicomte  Gontaut  Biron    in  London, 

where  they  had  fled  to  escape  the  horrors 

of  the  French  Revolution.     She  was  a  person 

of  the  highest  rank  and  of  unusual  beauty, 

and  during  the  Restoration  was  Gouvemante 

to  the  Children  of  France,  and  followed  the 

wanderings  of  the  Court  of  Charles  X,  after 

he  had  abdicated  in  favor  of  the  Duke  of 

Bordeaux,  his  grandson,  the  son  of  the  Due 

de   Berri   who   was   so   cruelly   assassinated 

24 


Story  of  Robert  Fulton         25 

and  who  would  have  been  known  as  Henri  V, 
if  the  crown  had  not  been  conferred  by  the 
people  upon  Louis  Philippe.  The  names  of 
Madame  de  Gontaut's  husband  and  mother 
were,  during  the  French  Revolution,  on  the 
list  of  proscribed  emigres,  and  as  it  became 
necessary  for  some  member  of  the  family  to 
visit  France  in  connection  with  the  manage- 
ment of  their  property,  Madame  de  Gontaut 
offered  to  go .  A  passport  was  procured  which 
described  her  as  Madame  Francois,  a  lace 
merchant  going  to  France  on  business.  The 
consul  from  Hamburg,  Mr.  Schemelpeninck, 
it  was  stated,  knew  the  parents  of  Madame 
Frangois  and  would  receive  her  cordially  in 
case  she  required  assistance. 

Madame  de  Gontaut  gives  us  the  follow- 
ing accoimt  of  Mr.  Fulton.  She  says  she 
saw  no  one  on  the  vessel  in  which  she  crossed 
the  Channel  she  had  ever  seen  before,  but 
states  that  "an  Englishman  came  and  spoke 
to  me  perceiving  that  I  spoke  both  English 
and  French,  he  asked  me  if  I  would  not 
interpret  for  him.     I  promised  him  I  would ; 


26  The  Story  of 

and  he  was  very  grateful,  as  he  was  going 
to  France  on  important  business."  On 
arriving  at  Calais  Madame  de  Gontaut 
was  arrested  and  charged  with  being  a  rich 
Smigree,  wife  of  a  cordon  bleu,  and  her  pass- 
port was  claimed  to  be  false.  She  was 
taken  before  the  Committee  of  Safety  and 
put  under  the  surveillance  of  Madame  Grand- 
sire,  who  was  proprietor  of  a  hotel,  and  a 
bailiff  was  detailed  to  be  lodged  there  at  her 
expense.  As  she  was  leaving  the  room, 
"the  Englishman"  who  had  asked  her  to 
interpret  for  him  told  her  the  object  of  his 
journey.  He  proved  to  be  Mr.  Fulton,  the 
inventor  of  the  steamboat,  and  had  a  letter 
recommending  him  to  Monsieur  Barthelemy, 
then  one  of  the  Directors  of  the  French 
Republic,  which  procured  for  him  a  certain 
consideration. 

Madame  de  Gontaut  was  detained  at 
Calais  three  weeks,  during  which  she  was 
frequently  examined  by  the  Committee  of 
Safety.  Mr.  Fulton,  discovering  how  bad- 
ly she  was  situated  and  that  the  authori- 


Robert  Fulton  27 

ties  intended  sending  her  to  Paris  under 
arrest,  proposed  many  plans  for  her  es- 
cape, and  finally  suggested  that  the  easi- 
est way  was  for  her  to  marry  him,  and 
upon  her  telling  him  she  was  married  already 
he  said:  "Oh,  what  a  pity,  what  a  pity!  I 
would  make  you  rich.  I  am  going  to  make 
my  fortune  in  Paris.  I  have  invented  a 
steamboat  and  I  am  going  to  set  the  whole 
world  going.  Besides  I  have  invented  a 
way  of  blowing  up  an  enemy's  fleet  by  means 
of  submarine  boats;  nothing  could  be  easier. 
And  it  will  be  quite  as  easy  to  save  you ;  only 
say  the  word,  and  I  will  go  and  claim  you.  I 
will  marry  you  and  that  will  be  the  end  of 
it." 

Madame  de  Gontaut  finally  succeeded 
in  communicating  with  Mr.  Schemelpeninck, 
who  secured  her  release.  One  day  she  was 
walking  in  Paris  with  her  brother-in-law, 
the  Marquis  de  Gontaut,  when  Mr.  Fulton 
rushed  up  and  seized  both  of  her  hands  and, 
addressing  her  as  Madame  Frangois,  ex- 
pressed his  delight  at  seeing  her.     Her  escort 


28  The  Story  of 

informed  him  he  had  the  honor  of  addressing 
Mademoiselle  de  Montault.  This  had  been 
her  maiden  name  and  was  assumed  as  a 
matter  of  prudence.  Mr.  Fulton  said :  ' '  No, 
no,  it  is  Madame  Francois.  She  is  married ; 
she  told  me  so  at  Calais";  and  then  asked  to 
have  the  name  repeated  and  wrote  it  on  a 
card.  He  immediately  commenced  to  talk 
about  his  object  in  coming  to  Paris, — to  blow 
up  vessels  and  to  run  boats  under  the  water 
and  by  steam;  and  the  Marquis,  supposing 
him  to  be  mad,  cut  the  interview  short. 

Madame  de  Gontaut  was  afterwards  at 
the  opera  in  London,  in  the  Duke  of  Port- 
land's box  with  Lord  Clarendon  and  several 
other  friends,  when  she  saw  Mr.  Fulton 
sitting  in  the  pit.  She  told  his  story  to  her 
friends  who  begged  her  to  bow  graciously 
to  him  in  case  he  looked  up.  He  did  and  was 
so  cordially  greeted  that  he  came  to  the  box 
at  once,  and  grasping  her  by  the  hand  said, 
"Mademoiselle  Montault,  what  a  pleasure 
to  meet  you  here — I  could  hardly  believe 
my  eyes. "  One  of  her  friends  said : '  *  Monsieur 


Robert  Fulton  29 

is  mistaken,  for  Madame  is  the  Vicomtesse 
de  Gontaut. "  Fulton  then  said, "This  is  too 
much.  She  is  always  changing  her  name. 
It  is  enough  to  drive  one  mad.  If  there  is 
any  joke  about  it  I  would  like  to  laugh  too. " 
Madame  de  Gontaut,  after  introducing  him 
to  her  friends,  made  him  sit  down  and  ex- 
plained the  mystery  of  Paris,  Calais,  and 
London.  He  said,  *'  I  congratulate  your 
husband  on  having  a  wife  who  at  one  time 
was  on  the  point  of  turning  my  head  or  of 
sending  me  to  the  devil."  This  meeting 
with  Lord  Clarendon  was  of  great  use  to 
Mr.  Fulton.  They  saw  much  of  each  other, 
and  before  returning  to  the  United  States 
Mr.  Fulton  called  upon  Madame  de  Gontaut 
and  thanked  her  for  having  procured  for 
him,  through  Lord  Clarendon,  access  to 
ministers  and  men  of  science,  who  appre- 
ciated him  and  made  a  trial  of  his  steamboat 
on  the  Seine  in  1802  possible. 


CHAPTER  V 

IN  FRANCE EXPERIMENTS  WITH  TORPEDOES 

AND  SUBMARINE  BOAT — RETURN  TO  ENG- 
LAND 

As  we  have  learned,  Mr.  Fulton  was 
dependent  upon  his  own  efforts  for  support, 
and  we  find  him  at  all  times  ready  to  work. 
After  he  was  settled  with  his  friend  Barlow, 
in  partnership  with  him,  he  established 
the  first  panorama  exhibited  in  Paris.  He 
painted  the  pictures  and  the  venture  proved 
most  successful,  both  partners  receiving  large 
l^retums.  He  also  painted  portraits,  one  of 
Mr.  Barlow,  an  engraving  of  which  can  be 
found  in  The  Life  and  Letters  of  Joel  Barlow 
by  Charles  Burr  Todd.  His  efforts  and 
energies  were,  however,  at  this  period  turned 
in  the  direction  of  experiments  with  tor- 
pedoes and  submarine  navigation.      In  De- 

^  cember,  1797,  with  Mr.  Barlow,  he  made  an 

30 


Story  of  Robert  Fulton         3 1 

experiment  on  the  Seine  with  a  torpedo 
boat  he  had  constructed,  to  impart  to  tor- 
pedoes loaded  with  gunpowder  a  progressive 
motion  to  a  given  point  and  there  explode 
them.  The  first  experiment  was  not  success- 
ful, both  of  the  experimenters  being  nearly 
drowned.  As  was  always  the  case  with 
Robert  Fulton,  he  was  not  daunted  by 
failure,  but  with  renewed  energy  continued 
his  experiments  imtil  he  had  evolved  a  sub- 
marine boat  which  could  be  navigated  suc- 
cessfully and  project  torpedoes  as  proposed. 
All  his  accumulations  had  been  spent 
in  these  experiments  and  he  went  to  France 
hoping  to  interest  the  French  govern- 
ment in  them.  He  brought  from  England 
as  has  been  already  stated  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  M.  Barthelemy,  one  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Directory,  and  soon  after 
arriving  became  acquainted  with  M.  Camot, 
who  was  the  ablest  member  of  the  original 
Directory  and  afterwards  Napoleon's  Min- 
ister of  War,  and  was  called  by  him  the 
"Organizer  of  Victory."     This  gave  Fulton 


32  The  Story  of 

considerable  advantage  in  his  dealings  with 
the  government  until  the  downfall  of  Camot. 
He  was  listened  to  with  interest  at  first  and 
was  led  to  expect  his  invention  would  be 
purchased.  Greatly  encouraged,  he  contin- 
ued his  experiments  and  spent  the  summer 
of  1800  at  Havre,  with  the  intention  of 
trying  his  torpedoes  on  the  British  frigates 
with  which  that  port  was  blockaded. 

In  the  following  winter  he  constructed  a 
plunging  boat  and  in  the  spring  of  1801  he 
went  to  Brest,  to  make  a  trial  of  her.  The 
fact  that  from  motives  of  economy  he  had 
used  iron  instead  of  copper  or  brass  in  her 
construction  hampered  him  on  account  of  the 
rust,  but  he  made  a  number  of  remarkable 
experiments.  On  July  3d,  he  descended 
with  three  companions  on  board  to  a  depth 
of  from  five  to  twenty-five  feet,  and  remained 
in  darkness  one  hour  below  the  surface.  In 
his  next  descent  he  used  candles  but  they 
so  exhausted  the  air  he  quickly  returned 
to  the  surface.  On  July  24,  1801,  having 
put  a  window  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter 


Robert  Fulton  33 

near  the  bow  of  his  boat,  he  descended  and 
found  the  light  sufficient  to  enable  him  to 
count  the  minutes  on  his  watch.  This  boat 
had  one  mast,  a  mainsail,  and  a  jib.  On 
July  26th,  he  made  another  trial  and  found 
her  sailing  qualities  equal  to  any  ordinary 
boat.  In  two  minutes  he  struck  her  mast 
and  sails  and  plunged.  He  then  placed  two 
men  at  the  engine  by  which  she  was  moved 
and  one  at  the  helm.  He  managed  the 
machine  by  which  the  boat  was  balanced 
and  could  do  it  with  one  hand.  In  seven 
minutes  he  found  on  coming  to  the  surface 
she  had  moved  five  hundred  yards.  Sub- 
sequent trials  demonstrated  that  he  could 
turn  her  around  under  water,  that  she  was 
obedient  to  the  helm  and  the  magnetic  needle 
worked  as  well  under  water  as  on  the  surface. 
On  August  7  th  he  descended  with  three  com- 
panions to  a  depth  of  five  feet;  at  the  ex- 
piration of  one  hour  and  forty  minutes  he 
commenced  to  use  air  from  a  reservoir  he  had 
taken  with  him,  and  remained  below  four  hours 
and  twenty  minutes  without  discomfort. 


34  The  Story  of 

For  the  purpose  of  testing  his  torpedoes 
a  small  boat  with  a  bomb  containing  twenty 
pounds  of  powder  was  anchored  in  the  harbor 
and  Mr.  Fulton,  having  approached  to  within 
two  hundred  yards  of  her,  struck  her  with 
a  torpedo  and  blew  her  into  atoms.  During 
the  summer  of  1801  none  of  the  British 
ships  approached  near  enough  to  afford  him 
an  opportunity  to  prove  what  he  could  do 
with  his  torpedoes. 

Mr.  Fulton's  plans  had  been  rejected 
by  the  Directory,  but  a  change  having 
taken  place  as  to  one  of  its  members,  he 
prepared  a  model  of  his  boat  and  pre- 
sented his  claim;  a  commission  was  ap- 
pointed which,  at  the  end  of  three  months, 
rejected  his  plan.  He  then  offered  his  in- 
vention to  Holland  through  Mr.  Schemel- 
peninck,  its  Minister,  but  it  was  declined. 
He  planned  a  larger  submarine  boat  which 
was  not  built  on  account  of  a  lack  of  funds. 

After  Napoleon  had  become  First  Consul 
and  had  been  victorious  in  Italy,  Egypt,  and 
Austria,  England  remained  his  implacable  foe 


Robert  Fulton  35 

and  her  fleets  ruled  the  seas.  An  attack  upon 
her  was  contemplated  and  in  the  words  of  the 
French  orator,  M.  Riouffe,  all  France  needed 
was  "a  fair  breeze  and  thirty- six  hours"  to 
cross  the  Channel  and  invade  with  armies 
that  had  been  everywhere  victorious  the 
island  so  long  and  successfully  guarded  by 
Lord  Nelson  and  the  British  tars.  This  sit- 
uation was  appreciated  by  Mr.  Fulton,  who, 
feeling  sure  of  the  success  of  steam  navigation, 
offered  the  result  of  his  researches  and  ex- 
periments in  that  line  to  the  French  govern- 
ment. In  1 801  he  wrote  to  the  First  Consul 
in  these  words:  **The  sea  which  separates 
you  from  your  enemy  gives  him  an  immense 
advantage  over  you.  Aided  in  turn  by  the 
winds  and  the  tempests,  he  defies  you  from 
his  inaccessible  island.  I  have  it  in  my  power 
to  cause  this  obstacle  which  protects  him  to 
disappear.  In  spite  of  all  his  fleets,  and  in 
any  weather,  I  can  transport  your  armies 
to  his  territory  in  a  few  hours,  without  fear 
of  the  tempests  and  without  depending  upon 
the  winds.     I  am  prepared  to  submit  my 


3^  The  Story  of 

plans. "  A  commission,  composed  of  Volney, 
La  Place,  and  Monge,  was  appointed  from 
the  Academy  of  Sciences  to  investigate  the 
proposal,  which  was  rejected  as  to  the  steam- 
boat, but  an  allowance  of  ten  thousand 
francs  was  made  for  experimenting  with  the 
plunging  boat.  Mr.  Fulton  demanded  as  pay 
the  cost  of  his  boat — called  the  Nautilus, — 
forty  thousand  francs,  from  which  the  sum 
of  ten  thousand  francs  allowed  by  the  govern- 
ment was  to  be  deducted;  prize  money  for 
each  vessel  destroyed,  and  an  official  recog- 
nition of  himself  and  his  men  as  belligerents, 
so  that  they  would  not  be  hung  as  pirates 
if  captured.  He  convinced  the  commission 
of  his  ability  to  accomplish  what  he  pro- 
posed, but  the  Minister  of  Marine,  Admiral 
Pleville-le-Pelley,  and  the  Maritime  Prefect 
at  Brest,  M.  Caffarelle,  insisted  it  would  be 
impossible  to  give  commissions  to  men  using 
such  appliances  in  war,  as  they  would  surely 
be  hung  if  captured,  and  his  plans  were 
rejected. 

When  Robert  Fulton  first  visited  France, 


Robert  Fulton  37 

the  atrocities  and  horrors  of  the  Revolution 
were  over  and  the  recollection  of  them  was 
dimmed  by  the  bright  days  of  freedom  which 
seemed  to  have  dawned  on  the  land  that 
had  been  for  centuries  ruled  by  despots  and 
plundered  by  a  privileged  class.  He  was 
filled  with  enthusiasm,  but  a  closer  acquain- 
tance with  those  in  authority  and  the  acces- 
sion of  Napoleon  to  the  office  of  First  Consul 
and  his  high-handed  manner  of  doing  things 
convinced  him  his  hopes  were  groundless, 
and  that  the  people  of  France  had  exchanged 
one  despot  for  another.  He  no  longer  felt 
called  upon  to  aid  her  with  his  inventive 
skill,  and  possibly  incensed  by  the  scant 
courtesy  with  which  the  First  Consul  had 
treated  him,  he  looked  elsewhere. 

His  experiments  with  his  submarine  boat 
and  torpedoes  had  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  British  government  and  caused  great  un- 
easiness. An  association  was  formed  in  1803  \ 
by  Lord  Stanhope  to  obtain  information  upon 
the  subject.  In  a  secret  session  of  the  House 
of  Lords,  Lord  Stanhope  stated  that  sub- 


38  The  Story  of 

marine  navigation  had  been  so  perfected  in 
France  by  Robert  Fulton  as  to  render  the 
destruction    of    ships    absolutely    sure.     In 
the  summer  of  1803,  Lord  Sidmouth,  who 
was    Prime    Minister,    communicated    with 
Mr.   Fulton  and  arranged  for  him  to  meet 
an  agent  of  the  British  government  at  Am- 
sterdam.    He   went   there  in   October  and 
waited  three  months,  and  the  British  agent 
failing  to  come,  he  returned  to  Paris.     The 
agent  came  later  to  Paris,  bringing  a  letter 
which  invited  Mr.  Fulton  to  come  to  London 
and  held  out  sufficient  inducements,  and  in 
May,    1804,   he  went  there.     Mr.   Pitt  had 
succeeded  Lord  Sidmouth  in  office  and  in  a 
short    time   after   Mr.    Fulton's   arrival    he 
granted    him    a  personal   interview.     After 
displaying    and     explaining    his    drawings, 
Mr.  Pitt  remarked  that  if  the  torpedo  was 
introduced  it  could  not  fail   to   annihilate 
all    military    marines.     A    commission    was 
appointed    to    examine    the   invention    and 
report.     They  decided  that  the  submarine 
boat  was  impracticable  and  advised  testing 


Robert  Fulton  39 

the  torpedo.  An  attempt  made  to  blow  up 
the  French  fleet  in  the  harbor  of  Boulogne 
was  unsuccessful. 

In  October,  1805,  ^  brig  of  two  hundred 
tons,  furnished  for  the  experiment,  was 
destroyed  by  a  torpedo  in  the  presence 
of  the  Prime  Minister  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  naval  officers.  The  ministry,  after 
deliberating  some  time,  decided  it  would 
be  impolitic  for  the  greatest  maritime 
power  to  introduce  a  system  of  warfare 
that  would  put  her  on  a  level  with  other 
nations  and  suggested  that  the  inventor 
would  be  amply  compensated  if  he  would 
consent  to  have  his  invention  suppressed. 
This  Mr.  Fulton  declined  to  do,  stating  his 
inventions  would  always  be  at  the  service 
of  his  country  if  needed.  It  appears  that 
Mr.  Fulton  was  to  have  received  ;;£4o,ooo  if 
successful,  but  having  been  only  partly  so 
he  was  treated  with  liberality,  for  in  October, 
1806,  he  wrote  Mr.  Barlow  he  had  been 
allowed  on  an  arbitration  ;£i 0,000  and  a 
salary  of  ;£5ooo. 


CHAPTER  VI 

ROBERT  FULTON  AND  CHANCELLOR  LIVINGSTON 

MEET  IN  PARIS THEY  EXPERIMENT  WITH 

STEAMBOATS    AND    FORM    PARTNERSHIP 

FULTON  RETURNS  TO  ENGLAND  AND  SAILS 
FOR  UNITED  STATES 

Chancellor  Robert  R.  Livingston,  who 
was  a  great-grandson  of  Robert  Livingston, 
the  first  Lord  of  the  Manor  of  Livingston, 
was  appointed  Minister  to  France  by  Pres- 
ident Jefferson  in  1801.  While  in  Paris  he 
met  Robert  Fulton,  and  the  congeniality 
of  their  tastes  and  similarity  of  their  pur- 
suits soon  established  an  intimacy  between 
them.  The  Chancellor,  in  addition  to  being 
a  man  of  large  fortune,  and  belonging  to  an 
opulent,  influential  family,  several  of  w^hose 
members  had  especially  distinguished  them- 
selves, had  filled  high  official  positions  and 

possessed    great    political    power.     He    was 

40 


Story  of  Robert  Fulton         41 

a  man  of  much  cultivation  with  a  decided 
turn  towards  scientific  researches.  He  had  , 
investigated  the  appHcation  of  steam  to 
navigation  in  1797,  and  employed  one  Nesbit 
to  construct  in  a  bay  in  the  Hudson  River 
just  south  of  Tivoli  a  steamboat.  In  March, 
1798,  he  obtained  from  the  legislature  of 
New  York  a  grant  of  the  exclusive  right  to 
navigate  by  steam  the  waters  within  the 
limits  of  the  State  for  twenty  years,  provided 
he  should  produce  and  keep  running  at  reg- 
ular and  convenient  intervals  a  boat  of  the 
average  speed  of  not  less  than  four  miles  an 
hour.  The  passage  of  this  bill  was  easily 
secured,  although  many  of  the  members  of 
the  legislature  considered  it  rather  a  disre- 
spect to  and  trifling  with  the  law-making 
power  to  request  them  to  enact  a  law  the 
enforcement  of  which  seemed  so  improbable. 
The  boat  constructed  by  the  Chancellor  was 
of  thirty  tons  but  proved  to  be  deficient  in 
speed.  He  however  continued  his  efforts 
to  solve  the  problem.  He  wrote  to  Thomas 
Jefferson  several  letters  upon  the  subject. 


42  The  Story  of 

Mr.  Fulton,  after  their  meeting  in  Paris, 
having  disclosed  to  Mr.  Livingston  his  discov- 
eries and  experiments  in  regard  to  the  steam- 
boat, which  were  those  about  which  he  had 
corresponded  with  Lord  Stanhope  in  1793,  en- 
tered into  an  agreement  with  him  to  make  fur- 
ther experiments.  Some  made  at  Plombieres 
on  a  little  rivulet  which  runs  through  that 
village  mth  a  set  of  ingenious  models  he  had 
constructed  during  the  summer  of  1802, 
convinced  both  Fulton  and  Li\4ngston  of 
the  superiority  of  the  paddle-wheel  over  all 
other  devices.  Mr.  Fulton  prepared  a  work- 
ing model  of  an  intended  steamboat  which 
he  deposited  with  a  commission  of  French 
savants.  The  boat  was  completed  early 
\  in  1803,  ^^  the  joint  expense  of  Fulton  and 
Livingston.  When  all  was  ready  for  the 
experiment,  Mr.  Fulton  was  aroused  from 
his  bed  one  morning  and  informed  that  the 
boat  had  broken  in  pieces  and  sunk  to  the 
bottom  of  the  Seine.  He  rushed  to  the  place 
and  foimd  that  the  boat,  not  having  been 
built    strongly    enough   for   its   machinery, 


Robert  Fulton  43 

had  broken  in  two  and  sunk.  He  imme- 
diately went  to  work  and  after  twenty-four 
hours  of  effort,  part  of  which  he  was  in  the 
icy  water,  without  rest  or  refreshment,  suc- 
ceeded in  raising  her.  The  machinery  was 
little  injured  but  the  boat  had  to  be  almost 
entirely  rebuilt,  and  was  completed  in  July, 
1803.  Sh^  was  sixty-six  feet  long  by  eight 
feet  wide  and  was  successfully  operated, 
but  did  not  meet  expectations  as  to  speed. 
This  the  inventors  claimed  was  due  to  lack 
of  power  in  the  engines.  They  were,  how- 
ever, so  pleased  with  the  result,  Mr.  Ful- 
ton's proposition  to  the  French  government 
having  been  rejected,  an  agreement  was 
entered  into  between  him  and  Chancellor 
Livingston  under  which  Fulton  was  to  re- 
turn to  the  United  States  and  continue 
experimenting  and  Livingston  was  to  fur-|i 
nish  the  funds  required  and  procure  all'l 
necessary  legislation. 

The  Recueil  Polytechnique  des  Fonts  et 
Chauss^es,  Paris,  1803,  contains  the  following 
account  of  one  of  their  experiments: 


44  The  Story  of 

"On  the  2ist  Thermidor  [9  August,  1803], 
a  trial  was  made  of  a  new  invention,  of  which 
the  complete  and  brilliant  success  should  have 
important  consequences  for  the  commerce 
and  internal  navigation  of  France.  During 
the  past  two  or  three  months  there  has  been 
seen  at  the  end  of  quay  Chaillot  a  boat  of 
curious  appearance,  equipped  with  two 
large  wheels,  mounted  on  an  axle  like  a 
chariot,  while  behind  these  wheels  was  a 
kind  of  large  stove  with  a  pipe,  as  if  there 
was  some  kind  of  a  small  fire  engine  {pompe 
a  feu)  intended  to  operate  the  wheels  of  the 
boat.  Several  weeks  ago  some  evil-minded 
persons  threw  this  structure  down.  The 
builder,  having  repaired  this  damage,  re- 
ceived, the  day  before  yesterday,  a  most 
flattering  reward  for  his  labor  and  talent. 

"At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  aided  by 
only  three  persons,  he  put  his  boat  in  motion, 
with  two  other  boats  attached  behind  it, 
and  for  an  hour  and  a  half  he  produced  the 
curious  spectacle  of  a  boat  moved  by  wheels, 
like  a  chariot,  these  wheels  being  provided 


Robert  Fulton  4S 

with  paddles  or  fiat  plates,  and  being  moved 
by  a  fire  engine. 

"In  following  it  along  the  quay  the  speed, 
against  the  current  of  the  Seine,  appeared  to 
us  about  that  of  a  rapid  pedestrian,  that  is, 
about  2400  toises  an  hour;  while  in  going 
downstream  it  was  more  rapid;  it  ascended 
and  descended  four  times  from  Les  Bons- 
Hommes  as  far  as  the  pump  of  Chaillot; 
it  was  manoeuvred  with  facility,  turning 
to  the  right  and  left,  came  to  anchor,  started 
again,  and  passed  by  the  swimming  school. 

"One  of  the  boats  took  to  the  quay  a 
number  of  savants  and  representatives  of 
the  Institute,  among  whom  were  Citizens 
Bossut,  Camot,  Prony,  Perrier,  Volney,  etc. 
Doubtless  they  will  make  a  report  which 
will  give  to  this  discovery  all  the  6clat  which 
it  merits;  for  this  mechanism,  applied  to  our 
rivers,  the  Seine,  the  Loire,  and  the  Rhone, 
will  have  most  advantageous  consequences 
upon  our  internal  navigation.  The  tows 
of  barges  which  now  require  four  months 
to  come  from  Nantes  to  Paris,  would  arrive 


4^  The  Story  of 

promptly  in  ten  to  fifteen  days.  The  author 
of  this  brilHant  invention  is  M.  Fulton,  an 
American  and  a  celebrated  mechanic." 

The  day  before  the  trial  of  his  boat  on 
the  Seine  Mr.  Fulton  wrote  to  Messrs.  Boul- 
ton  &  Watt  of  Birmingham,  England,  the 
following  letter:   - 

"Paris,  the  6th  of  August,  1803. 

*' Messrs.  Boulton  &  Watt,  Birmingham: 
"Gentlemen — If  there  is  not  a  law  which 
prohibits  the  exportation  of  steam  engines 
to  the  United  States  of  America,  or  if  you 
can  get  a  permit  to  export  parts  of  an  en- 
gine, will  you  be  so  good  as  to  make  me  a 
Cylinder  of  a  24  horse  power  double  effect, 
the  piston  making  a  4  foot  stroke. 
Also  the  piston  and  piston  rod, 
The    Valves    and    movements    for    opening 
and  shutting  them 
The  air  pump  piston  and  rod 
The  condenser  with  its  communications  to 
the  cylinder  and  air  pump. 

*'The  bottom  of  the  cylinder  cast  in  form 
as  in  the  drawing  and  the  dispositions  of 


Robert  Fulton  47 

the  parts  as  near  as  possible  as  they  stand 
in  the  drawing.  The  other  parts  can  be 
made  at  New  York,  and  as  it  will  save  the 
expense  of  transport,  and  they  require  a 
particular  arrangement  which  must  be  done 
while  I  am  present,  I  prefer  having  them 
done  there.  Therefore,  if  it  is  permitted  to 
export  the  above  parts,  you  will  confer  on 
me  a  great  obligation  by  favouring  me  with 
them,  and  placing  me  the  next  on  your  list. 
When  finished  please  to  pack  them  in  such 
a  manner  as  not  to  receive  injury,  and  send 
them  to  the  nearest  port  which  I  suppose  is 
Liverpool,  to  be  shipped  for  New  York  to 
the  address  of  Brockholst  Livingston  Esqre.l 
The  Amount  of  the  expenses  will  be  placed 
to  your  order  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  George 
Wm.  Erving,  American  Consul,  Nicholas 
lane,  Lombard  Street,  No.  10,  London. 

''The  situation  for  which  this  engine  is 
designed  and  the  machinery  which  is  to  be 
combined  with  it,  will  not  admit  of  placing 
the  Condensor  under  the  cylinder  as  usual, 
but  I  hope  the  communicating  tube  to  the  con- 


48  The  Story  of 

denser,  will  not  render  the  condensation  less 
perfect,  or  Injure  the  working  of  the  engine. 

"Should  you  find  a  difficulty  in  getting  a 
permit  to  export  the  parts  above  mentioned, 
I  hope  to  be  able  to  obtain  it  through  our 
Minister  Mr.  Monroe.  And  as  there  is 
some  difficulty  in  passing  letters  to  and 
from  Paris  and  Birmingham,  which  may 
lose  much  time.  You  vAW  be  so  good  as  to 
furnish  me  the  above  parts  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible without  waiting  to  hear  further  from  me. 

''Please  to  write  me  as  soon  as  possible 
under  cover  to  Mr.  Erving  as  before  men- 
tioned, in  which  I  beg  you  to  Answer  the 
following    Questions : — 

"What  must  be  the  size  of  the  boiler  for 
such  an  engine?  How  much  space  for  the 
water,  and  how  much  for  the  steam?  What 
is  the  most  improved  method  of  making 
the  Boiler,  and  economic  mode  of  setting 
it?  How  many  poimds  of  coal  will  such  an 
engine  require  per  hour,  and  what  is  the 
expence  at  Birmingham? 

"Can  you  inform  me  what  is  the  difference 


Robert  Fulton  49 

in  heating  with  coals  or  wood,  As  in  most 
cases  wood  must  be  used  in  America,  And 
must  not  the  furnace  be  made  different 
when  wood  is  to  be  used? 

''What  will  be  the  consequence  of  con- 
densing with  water  a  little  salt?  As  in  the 
place  where  the  engine  is  to  work  the  water 
is  brackish? 

"What  will  be  the  Interior  and  exterior 
diameter  of  the  cylinder,  and  its  length, 
and  what  will  be  the  Velocity  of  the  piston  per 
second  ?  This  information  will  enable  me  to 
combine  the  other  parts  of  the  machinery, 

' '  When  can  the  engine  be  finished,  and  how 
much  will  be  the  expence?  Your  favouring 
me  with  the  execution  of  this  order,  and 
answering  the  above  questions,  will  very 
much  oblige  your  most  Obedient, 

"Robert  Fulton. 

"  Rue  Vaugirard  No.  50  A  Paris. 

"Can  the  position  and  arrangement  of  the 
Cylinder  Condensor  and  air  pump  be  ad- 
hered to,  as  in  the  drawing,  without  In- 
juring the  working  of  the  engine?*' 

4 


50  The  Story  of 

This  letter  was  enclosed  in  a  sheet  on 
which  was  the  drawing  mentioned;  .  .  . 
The  manuscript  note  reiterates  the  instruc- 
tions in  the  letter. 

This  order  was  declined  in  a  letter  dated 
October  4,  1803,  Boulton  &  Watt  having 
been  unable  to  obtain  the  permission  to 
export  required. 

After  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens 
in  March,  1802,  under  which  negotiations  for 
peace  were  made,  Mr.  Fulton  seems  to  have 
interested  himself  especially  in  the  steam- 
boat, and  early  in  1803  ^^  ^^^  made  another 
proposal  to  the  French  government.  Citi- 
zens Molar,  Bandell,  and  Montgolfier  (the 
inventor  of  the  hot  air  balloon)  were  ap- 
pointed   commissioners    to   investigate. 

The  following  is  a  letter  to  them  from 
Robert  Fulton: 

"Paris,  4  Pluviose,  Year  XI. 
"[25  January,  1803.] 

''Robert  Fulton  to  Citizens  Molar, 

Bandell,   and  Montgolfier. 
"Friends  of  the  Arts. — I  send  you  here- 


Robert  Fulton  51 

with  sketch  designs  of  a  machine  which  I  am 
about  to  construct  with  which  I  propose 
soon  to  make  experiments  upon  the  tow- 
ing of  boats  upon  rivers  by  the  aid  of  fire 
engines.  My  original  object  in  attempting 
this  was  to  put  it  in  practice  upon  the 
great  rivers  of  America  where  there  are 
no  roads  suitable  for  hauling  nor  indeed 
are  any  hardly  practicable,  and  where,  in 
consequence,  the  cost  of  navigation  by  the 
aid  of  steam  would  be  put  in  comparison 
with  the  labor  of  men  and  not  with  that  of 
horses  as  in  France. 

"You  can  see  that  such  a  discovery,  if  suc- 
cessful, would  be  infinitely  more  important 
in  America  than  in  France  where  there 
exist  everywhere  roads  suitable  for  haul- 
ing, and  companies  established  for  the 
transport  of  merchandise  at  such  moderate 
charges  that  I  doubt  very  much  if  a  steam- 
boat, however  perfect  it  might  be,  could  be 
able  to  gain  anything  over  horses  for  mer- 
chandise. But  for  passengers  it  is  possible 
to  gain  something  because  of  the  speed. 


$2  The  Story  of 

"In  these  plans  you  will  find  nothing  new, 
since  this  is  not  the  case  with  paddle  wheels, 
an  appliance  which  has  often  been  tried 
and  always  abandoned  because  it  was  be- 
lieved that  it  had  a  disadvantageous  action 
in  the  water.  But,  after  the  experiments 
which  I  have  made  already  I  am  convinced 
that  the  fault  is  not  in  the  wheel,  but  in 
the  ignorance  concerning  its  proportions,  its 
speed,  the  power  required,  and  probably 
in  the  mechanical  combination. 

"I  have  proved  by  very  accurate  experi- 
ment that  paddle  wheels  are  much  to  be 
preferred  to  bands  of  paddles,  and  in  con- 
sequence, although  the  wheels  are  not  a  new 
application,  yet  nevertheless  I  have  com- 
bined them  in  such  a  manner  that  a  large 
portion  of  the  power  of  the  engine  acts  to 
propel  the  boat  in  the  same  way  as  if  they 
rolled  upon  the  ground;  the  combination  is 
infinitely  better  than  anything  which  has 
as  yet  been  done  up  to  the  present  time,  and 
it  is  in  fact  a  new  discovery. 

"For  the  transport  of  merchandise  I  pro- 


Robert  Fulton  53 

pose  to  use  a  boat  with  an  engine  arranged 
to  draw  one  or  several  loaded  barges,  each 
one  so  close  to  the  preceding  one  that  the 
water  cannot  flow  between  to  make  re- 
sistance. I  have  already  done  this  in  my 
patent  for  small  channels,  and  this  is  in- 
dispensable for  boats  moved  by  fire  engines. 

"Suppose  the  boat  A,  with  the  engine, 
presents  to  the  water  a  face  of  20  feet,  but 
inclined  at  an  angle  of  50  degrees,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  have  a  machine  of  420  pounds 
power  making  3  feet  per  second  to  move 
one  league  per  hour  in  still  water.  If  the 
boats  B  and  C  have  their  faces  parallel  to 
that  of  A  they  will  each  also  require  a  force 
of  420  pounds,  that  is  to  say  1200  pounds 
for  the  three,  while  if  they  are  connected  in 
the  manner  in  which  I  have  indicated,  the 
force  of  420  will  suffice  for  all,  and  this 
great  economy  of  power  is  too  important 
to  be  neglected  in  such  an  undertaking. 
"Citizens: 

"When  my  experiments  are  ready  I  shall 
have  the  pleasure  to  invite  you  to  see  them, 


54  The  Story  of 

and  if  they  are  successful  I  reserve  the 
privilege  of  presenting  my  labors  to  the  re- 
public or  of  taking  for  them  such  advan- 
tages as  the  law  may  authorize.  At  the 
present  time  I  place  these  notes  in  your 
hands  in  order  that  if  any  similar  project 
comes  before  you  before  my  experiments 
are    completed,    they    shall    not    have    the 

preference  over  mine. 

"With  respectful  salutations, 

''Robert  Fulton. 

"No.  50  Rue  Vaugirard." 

On  Mr.  Fulton's  arrival  in  England  in 
1804,  he  went  to  Birmingham  and  made 
some  new  specifications  for  the  work.  In 
September,  1806,  Mr.  Fulton  wrote  to  his 
friend  Barlow,  who  was  then  in  the  United 
States,  that  he  was  about  sailing  for  home 
and  "that  the  produce  of  my  studies  and 
experience  may  not  be  lost  to  my  coimtry, 
I  have  made  out  a  complete  set  of  drawings 
and  descriptions  of  my  whole  system  of 
submarine  attack,  and  another  set  of  draw- 
ings   with    description    of    the    steamboat. 


Robert  Fulton  55 

These,  with  my  will,  I  shall  put  in  a  tin 
cylinder,  sealed,  and  leave  them  in  the  care 
of  General  Lyman,  not  to  be  opened  unless 
I  am  lost." 

The  vessel  by  which  the  cylinder  was  sent 
to  this  country  was  wrecked,  but  the  cylinder 
was  recovered;  its  contents,  however,  were 
badly  damaged  by  the  sea  water,  some  being , 
entirely  illegible  and  others  deciphered  only 
with  great  difficulty. 

Mr.  Fulton  sailed  from  Falmouth  in 
October,  1806,  and  arrived  in  New  York 
via  Halifax  December  13  th. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ARRIVES    IN    NEW    YORK — EFFORTS    TO    RAISE 
MONEY  FOR  BUILDING  STEAMBOAT 

Robert  Fulton's  return  to  his  native 
land  must  have  filled  him  with  many  emo- 
tions. He  had  sailed  away  to  seek  his 
fortune  twenty  years  before,  and  in  that 
period  had  elevated  himself  from  a  position 
of  obscurity  to  one  of  eminence.  He  had 
worked  hard,  his  ambition  had  spurred  him 
on  to  great  achievements.  He  had  through 
his  talents  been  brought  into  relations  with 
scientists  and  statesmen  and  had  inter- 
ested them  in  his  inventions  and  asso- 
ciated with  persons  of  distinguished  rank, 
and  attracted  and  charmed  them  all  with 
his  ability,  earnestness,  enthusiasm,  ap- 
pearance, and  manners.  He  had  gone  forth 
friendless  and  had  returned  possessing  the 

confidence  of  some  of  the  foremost  men  in 

56 


Story  of  Robert  Fulton         57 

his  own  and  other  lands.  There  seemed  to 
be  nothing  more  needed  to  crown  his  efforts 
except  opportunity,  health,  and  years.  Chan- 
cellor Livingston, — with  whom  he  had  en- 
tered into  partnership  in  Paris  and  by  whom 
he  was  induced  to  return  to  the  United 
States, — after  the  signing  of  the  Louisiana 
Purchase  treaty,  which  had  been  chiefly  ef- 
fected through  his  diplomacy,  in  December, 
1804,  left  Paris  and  having  travelled  exten- 
sively in  Europe  and  England,  returned  to 
the  United  States.  He  had  every  temptation 
to  lead  a  life  of  leisure,  but  such  a  thing 
would  have  been  impossible  for  a  man  of  his 
active  temperament.  The  plans  formed  by 
him  and  Robert  Fulton  in  Paris  received 
his  constant  attention  and  on  the  arrival 
of  Mr.  Fulton  in  New  York,  the  latter  found 
matters  in  such  condition  that  he  was  able 
to  proceed  with  his  undertaking  at  once. 
The  vessel  with  which  he  would  soon  star- 
tle the  world  had  been  already  commenced 
according  to  the  plans  agreed  upon  in  Paris, 
and  the  machinery  from  which  her  engine 


58  The  Story  of 

was  to  be  constructed  had  already  arrived. 
Mr.  Fulton  devoted  himself  to  the  work 
with  characteristic  energy  and  enthusiasm, 
and  after  the  machinery  had  been  removed 
from  the  storehouse  where  it  had  been  held 

'^  for  some  time  waiting  for  the  Chancellor 
to  pay  the  charges,  the  work  went  on  rapidly. 
From  time  to  time  Chancellor  Livingston 
is  gibed  at  in  newspaper  reminiscences  and 
so-called  historical  articles  in  magazines, 
for  the  reason  that  he  did  not  always  appear 
to  have  ready  cash  to  proceed  with  his 
steamboat  venture.  We  have  become  so 
accustomed  in  these  days  to  millionaires 
and  to  hearing  of  enormous  undertakings 
the  successful  carrying  out  of  w^hich  required 
great   expenditures   of   ready   money,    that 

Twe  forget  how  little  cash  was  possessed  by 
any  one  in  the  United  States  one  hundred 
years  ago.  The  Chancellor  and  his  family 
owned  large  tracts  of  land  the  revenues  from 
which  enabled  them  to  live  in  a  manner 
befitting  their  fortune  and  station  but  it 
is  very  doubtful  if  any  of  them  had  much 


Robert  Fulton  59 

ready  money.  This  fact  did  not  deter  him 
from  pushing  the  work  on  his  steamboat 
as  rapidly  as  he  could.  There  were  times 
while  the  first  steamboat  was  being  con- 
structed when  it  seemed  as  if  the  enterprise 
would  have  to  be  abandoned  on  account  of 
the  lack  of  funds,  which,  however,  always 
seemed  to  come,  although  as  the  result  of 
earnest  efforts  and  at  the  end  of  anxious 
hours. 

Robert  Fulton  did  his  share  towards 
raising  the  necessary  money.  In  view  of 
the  success  of  Fulton's  invention,  one  can- 
not fail  to  wonder  at  his  experience  with 
the  capitalists  who  refused  to  assist  him. 
The  contract  between  the  Chancellor  and^ 
Mr.  Fulton  had  provided  that  the  former 
should  bear  the  entire  expense  of  building 
the  vessel  and  the  latter  had  agreed  to 
assist  in  raising  the  fimds  necessary.  Hav- 
ing little  capital,  he  relied  on  persuading 
some  one  to  join  them  and  he  interviewed 
several  men  of  property  and  gave  informa- 
tion such  as  might  attract  others,  offering 


6o  The  Story  of 

to  sell  for  the  cash  required  a  one-third 
interest  in  the  invention,  with  all  rights 
accruing,  but  found  no  one  who  was  willing 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  such  "a  crazy 
venture"  as  it  was  called.  The  Chancellor, 
however,  worked  with  a  will  and  converted 
such  property  as  was  available  into  cash, 
and  Robert  Fulton  went  in  and  out  among 
the  friends  he  had  quickly  gained  after  his 
arrival,  and  he  seemed  to  possess  a  peculiar 
faculty  in  attaching  friends  who  had  great 
faith  in  him  and  were  unable  to  resist  his 
importunities.  He  proved  by  his  confidence 
in  the  undertaking  and  the  progress  which 
was  made  as  the  months  passed  his  faith 
in  the  project  and  won  unwilling  and  doubt- 
ing helpers  by  his  power  of  persuasion. 

There  is  an  anecdote  that  at  a  moment 
when  one  thousand  dollars  was  absolutely 
^needed,  Mr.  Fulton  went  to  an  intimate 
friend,  and,  after  an  entire  evening  spent  in 
trying  to  convince  him  that  his  steamboat 
would  be  a  success  and  an  interview  the 
next  morning,  the  friend  agreed  to  let  him 


Robert  Fulton  6i 

have  one  hundred  dollars,  provided  he 
could  induce  some  of  his  friends  to  advance 
the  remaining  nine  hundred.  He  succeeded, 
but  with  great  difficulty, — the  individuals 
who  made  up  the  balance  refusing  to  sub- 
scribe their  names,  through  fear  lest  their 
folly  should  become  known.  The  months 
between  Mr.  Fulton's  arrival  in  New  York 
and  the  completion  of  the  steamboat  must 
have  been  full  of  anxiety  for  both  him  and 
the  Chancellor.  The  former  was  driven 
with  work  upon  the  steamboat,  besides 
which  he  devoted  much  time  to  experiments 
with  torpedoes. 

As  soon  as  Chancellor  Livingston  had  en- 
tered into  business  relations  with  Mr.  Fulton, 
he  procured  the  passage  of  an  act  by  the  ; 
legislature  of  New  York,  which  renewed  the 
rights  given  him  under  the  act  of  1798  (see 
ante,  page  41)  and  granted  him  and  Robert 
Fulton  jointly  the  exclusive  right  to  navigate 
the  waters  of  the  State  of  New  York  with 
vessels  moved  by  steam  for  twenty  years, 
provided  they  produced  within  two  years  a 


62        Story  of  Robert  Fulton 

boat  of  not  less  than  twenty  tons  burden 
which  could  attain  to  a  speed  of  four  miles 
an  hour  against  the  current.  The  Chan- 
cellor obtained  renewals  of  this  act  from 
time  to  time  until  he  and  Mr.  Fulton  were 
prepared  for  their  experiment. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

RECEIVED  WITH  HOMAGE  —  EMPLOYED  BY 
FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT  TO  EXPERIMENT 
WITH  TORPEDOES — TRIAL  TRIP  OF  THE 
CLERMONT 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Fulton  arrived  in  New 
York  he  foiind  that  his  inventions  had 
aroused  much  curiosity  and  given  him  a  po- 
sition of  great  distinction.  He  was  received 
by  Chancellor  Livingston  and  his  family  and 
by  the  principal  people  of  the  place  with 
most  marked  attention,  and  wherever  he 
went  he  was  surrounded  with  crowds  anxious 
to  see  the  man  who  was  attempting  to  do 
such  great  things  in  navigation  and  warfare. 
His  experiments  with  torpedoes  seem  to 
have  especially  interested  the  public  and  on 
the  advice  of  friends  he  soon  visited  Wash- 
ington and  presented  his  plans  to  the  au- 

63 


64  The  Story  of 

thorities.  They  were  received  with  so  much 
approval  that  an  appropriation  was  made 
to  enable  him  to  continue  his  experiments. 
On  his  return  to  New  York  he  delivered  a 
lecture  upon  the  subject  of  submarine  ex- 
plosives to  which  he  invited  the  officials  and 
chief  citizens.  He  was  listened  to  with 
marked  interest,  and  his  audience  displayed 
much  curiosity  concerning  the  copper  cylin- 
ders and  clockwork  composing  the  machines. 
This,  however,  was  turned  to  consternation 
and  a  hurried  flight  from  the  room  when  the 
lecturer  drew  from  one  of  the  torpedoes  a 
peg  and  informed  them  that  it  was  charged 
with  one  hundred  and  seventy  pounds  of 
powder,  and  if  he  allowed  the  clock  attached 
to  run  fifteen  minutes  longer  they  would  all 
be  blown  to  atoms.  After  replacing  the 
peg  and  stopping  the  clock,  Mr.  Fulton  had 
great  difficulty  in  re-assembling  his  audience. 
On  July  20,  1807,  he  attempted  to  blow 
up  the  hulk  of  a  brig  furnished  by  the  United 
States  government.  The  experiment  was 
at  first  a  failure,  the  machinery  not  acting 


Robert  Fulton  65 

as  was  expected,  the  test  having  been  made 
without  the  locks  which  when  attached 
threw  the  torpedoes  out  of  balance.  It  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  this  small  detail  should 
have  escaped  the  vigilance  of  the  inventor 
when  we  consider  how  much  there  must 
have  been  on  his  mind.  After  a  delay  of 
several  hours  this  defect  was  remedied, 
the  explosion  took  place  and  the  brig  was 
destroyed  as  advertised,  but  not  until  after 
the  crowd  that  had  assembled  to  witness  it 
had  dispersed. 

The  steamboat,  over  which  he  had  labored 
for  so  many  years,  on  the  construction  of 
which  he  had  staked  his  all,  and  in  which 
one  of  his  best  and  truest  friends  had  risked 
his  possessions  and  with  which  he  hoped  to 
benefit  all  humanity  and  receive  as  a  reward 
imdying  fame  and  a  fortune  far  beyond  the 
dreams  of  avarice,  was  approaching  com- 
pletion. It  was  built  at  the  shipyard  of  . 
Charles  Brown  on  the  East  River,  and  early  ' 
one  morning  in  August,  1807,  without  any 

announcement,   sailed  around  and  over  to 
s 


66  The  Story  of 

the  New  Jersey  shore.  This  little  voyage 
was  satisfactory  in  every  way  and  Messrs. 
Fulton  and  Livingston  were  overjoyed  at 
their  success. 

On  the  7  th  of  September  following  the 
first  trial  trip  was  made.  Invitations  had 
been  extended  to  the  high  officials  and 
friends  of  Mr.  Fulton  and  the  Chancel- 
lor and  those  who  had  assisted  with  funds 
and  political  services  in  procuring  what 
was  supposed  to  be  the  necessary  legis- 
lation. An  announcement  was  also  made 
in  the  newspapers  that  the  boat  built 
by  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Fulton,  with 
a  view  to  the  na\dgation  of  the  Missis- 
sippi River  from  New  Orleans  upwards, 
would  depart  for  Albany  in  the  afternoon. 
It  was  not  then  supposed  that  steamboats 
could  be  profitably  run  between  New  York 
and  Albany.  In  consequence  a  large  crowd 
assembled  to  witness  what  most  of  them  be- 
lieved would  be  a  failure.  The  boat  was  built 
of  wood  and  was  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet 
long,  sixteen  and  a  half  feet  wide,  and  seven 


Robert  Fulton  67 

feet  deep.  Her  engine  had  a  cylinder  of  two 
feet  diameter  with  four  feet  stroke  of  piston. 
The  boiler  was  twenty  feet  long,  seven  feet 
deep,  and  eight  feet  wide ;  the  paddle-wheels 
fifteen  feet  in  diameter  with  floats  four  feet 
long  having  a  dip  of  two  feet.  Her  capacity 
was  one  hundred  and  sixty  tons  and  she  was 
named  the  Clermont  in  honor  of  Chancellor 
Livingston's  estate  on  the  Hudson.  1  She  was 
provided  with  large  square  sails  attached  to 
masts  that  could  be  raised  or  lowered  accord- 
ing to  the  strength  of  the  wind.  The  boiler 
was  constructed  of  wood  bound  with  heavy 
iron  bands,  the  heat  from  which  when  the 
steam  was  up  caused  the  wood  under  them 
to  shrink  while  the  spaces  between  the  bands 
swelled  so  that  open  spaces  were  produced 
through  which  the  steam  escaped.  This 
was  remedied  in  part  by  covering  the  boiler 
with  blankets  and  carpets. 

The  fuel  used  was  seasoned  pine  wood 

»  I  find  a  singular  disagreement  as  to  the  measure- 
ments of  the  Clermont  and  am  indebted  to  Robert 
Fulton  Ludlow,  Esquire,  a  grandson  of  the  inventor, 
for  those  given. — P.  F.  M. 


68         Story  of  Robert  Fulton 

and  the  smokestack  of  the  vessel  was  much 
longer  than  those  now  used,  in  order  to 
create  a  sufficient  draught.  Her  course 
was  marked  by  a  column  of  dark  smoke 
through  which  flames  flashed,  and,  when 
the  fire  was  stirred,  a  tremendous  shower 
of  sparks. 

After  the  Clermont  had  proceeded  a  few 
miles  on  her  trial  trip,  which  she  did  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  spectators  and  the 
satisfaction  of  those  interested  in  the  ex- 
periment, Mr.  Fulton  observed  that  the 
vessel  was  retarded  by  her  paddle-wheels 
dipping  too  deeply  in  the  water  and  that 
her  speed  could  be  increased  by  reducing 
the  diameter  of  the  buckets  of  the  paddle- 
wheels.  The  Clermont  returned  to  her  dock 
and  in  a  few  days  the  alterations  were  made 
and  upon  another  trial  trip  her  speed  was 
much  increased. 


CHAPTER  IX 

FIRST  VOYAGE  OF  THE  CLERMONT  TO  ALBANY 
— LETTERS  OF  FULTON — DESCRIPTION  OF 
THE   CLERMONT 

Between  the  7th  and  nth  of  September, 
1807,  t^^  Clermont  started  on  her  first  voyage 
to  Albany.  It  was  a  continuous  triumph. 
Her  coming  was  beheld  by  those  gathered 
upon  the  river  banks  and  employed  in  boats 
on  its  surface  with  awe  amounting  almost 
to  terror.  The  black  fire-streaked  cloud 
which  came  from  her  funnel  by  day,  during 
the  hours  of  darkness  became  a  trail  of  fire. 
She  reached  Albany  in  thirty-two  hours  of 
sailing,  having  stopped  at  the  dock  at  Cler- 
mont about  two  miles  north  of  Tivoli  for  the 
purpose  of  landing  Chancellor  Livingston  and 
to  take  on  fuel — the  voyage  being  resumed 
the  next  day.  The  first  voyage  of  the  Cler- 
mont to  Albany  was  not  referred  to  in  the 

69 


70  The  Story  of 

New  York  Evening  Post  on  the  day  she  sailed 
or  afterwards,  until  the  day  after  her  safe 
return,  when  a  letter  from  Robert  Fulton 
to  the  American  Citizen  (which  is  given 
below)   was  printed. 

The  following    letters  of  Robert   Fulton 
are  sure  to  interest  the  reader: 

"New  York,  Sept.  15,  1807. 

"To  the  Editor  of  the  American  Citizen, 

"Sir: — I  arrived  this  afternoon,  at  four 
o'clock,  in  the  steamboat  from  Albany. 
As  the  success  of  my  experiment  gives  me 
great  hopes  that  such  boats  may  be  rendered 
of  great  importance  to  my  country,  to  pre- 
vent erroneous  opinions  and  give  some 
satisfaction  to  the  friends  of  useful  improve- 
ments, you  will  have  the  goodness  to  pub- 
lish the  following  statement  of  facts: 

"I  left  New  York  on  Monday  at  one 
o'clock,  and  arrived  at  Clermont,  the  seat 
of  Chancellor  Livingston,  at  one  o'clock  on 
Tuesday — time,  twenty-four  hours,  distance 
one  hundred  and  ten  miles.  On  Wednesday 
I  departed   from  the  Chancellor's  at  nine 


Robert  Fulton  71 

in  the  morning,  and  arrived  at  Albany  at 
five  in  the  afternoon — distance,  forty  miles, 
time,  eight  hours.  The  sum  is  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  in  thirty-two  hours,  equal  to 
near  five  miles  an  hour. 

*'0n  Thursday,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  I  left  Albany,  and  arrived  at  the 
Chancellor's  at  six  in  the  evening:  I  started 
from  thence  at  seven,  and  arrived  at  New 
York  at  four  in  the  afternoon — time,  thirty 
hours,  space  rtm  through,  one  himdred  and 
fifty  miles,  equal  to  five  miles  an  hour. 
Throughout  my  whole  way,  both  going  and 
returning,  the  wind  was  ahead;  no  advan- 
tage could  be  derived  from  my  sails:  the 
whole  has,  therefore,  been  performed  by 
the  power  of  the  steam-engine. 

**I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

''Robert  Fulton." 

Letter  from  Robert  Fulton  to 
Joel  Barlow 

"My   steamboat   voyage   to   Albany   and 

back  has  turned  out  rather  more  favorable 

than  I  had  calculated.     The  distance  from 


72  The  Story  of 

New  York  to  Albany  is  one  htindred  and 
fifty  miles:  I  ran  it  up  in  thirty-two  hours, 
and  down  in  thirty.  I  had  a  light  breeze 
against  me  the  whole  way,  both  going  and 
coming,  and  the  voyage  has  been  performed 
wholly  by  the  power  of  the  steam-engine. 
I  overtook  many  sloops  and  schooners  beat- 
ing to  windward,  and  parted  with  them  as 
if  they  had  been  at  anchor. 

"The  power  of  propelling  boats  by  steam 
is  now  fully  proved.  The  morning  I  left 
New  York,  there  were  not  perhaps  thirty 
persons  in  the  city  who  believed  that  the 
boat  would  ever  move  one  mile  an  hour,  or 
be  of  the  least  utility;  and  while  we  were 
putting  off  from  the  wharf,  which  was 
crowded  with  spectators,  I  heard  a  number 
of  sarcastic  remarks.  This  is  the  way  in 
which  ignorant  men  compliment  what  they 
call  philosophers  and  projectors. 

"Having  employed  much  time,  money, 
and  zeal,  in  accomplishing  this  work,  it 
gives  me,  as  it  will  you,  great  pleasure  to  see 
it   fully   answer   my   expectations.     It   will 


Robert  Fulton  73 

give  a  cheap  and  quick  conveyance  to  the 
merchandise  on  the  Mississippi,  Missouri, 
and  other  great  rivers,  which  are  now  laying 
open  their  treasures  to  the  enterprise  of  our 
countrymen;  and  although  the  prospect  of 
personal  emolument  has  been  some  induce- 
ment to  me,  yet  I  feel  infinitely  more  pleasure 
in  reflecting  on  the  immense  advantage  my 
country  will  derive  from  the  invention, "  etc,__i 

Letter   from   Robert  Fulton  to  Chan- 
cellor Livingston 

"  New  York. 

''Dear  Sir: — On  Saturday  I  wrote  you 
that  I  arrived  here  on  Friday  at  four  o'clock, 
which  made  my  voyage  from  Albany  ex- 
actly thirty  hours.  We  had  a  little  wind 
on  Friday  morning,  but  no  waves  which 
produced  any  effect.  I  have  been  making 
every  exertion  to  get  off  on  Monday  morning, 
but  there  has  been  much  work  to  do — 
boarding  all  the  sides,  decking  over  the  boiler 
and  works,  finishing  each  cabin  with  twelve 
berths  to  make  them  comfortable,  and 
strengthening  many  parts  of  the  iron  work. 


74  The  Story  of 

So  much  to  do,  and  the  rain,  which  delays 
the  caulkers,  will,  I  fear,  not  let  me  off  till 
Wednesday  morning.  Then,  however,  the 
boat  will  be  as  complete  as  she  can  be  made — 
all  strong  and  in  good  order  and  the  men 
well  organized,  and  I  hope,  nothing  to  do 
but  to  nm  her  for  six  weeks  or  two  months. 
The  first  week,  that  is  if  she  starts  on  Wed- 
nesday, she  will  make  one  trip  to  Albany 
and  back.  Every  succeeding  w^eek  she 
will  run  three  trips — that  is,  two  to  Albany 
and  one  to  New  York,  or  two  to  New 
York  and  one  to  Albany  always  having  Sun- 
day and  four  nights  for  rest  to  the  crew.  By 
carrying  for  the  usual  price  there  can  be  no 
doubt  but  the  steamboat  will  have  the  pre- 
ference because  of  the  certainty  and  agreeable 
movements.  I  have  seen  the  captain  of 
the  fine  sloop  from  Hudson.  He  says  the 
average  of  his  passages  have  been  forty- 
eight  hours.  For  the  steamboat  it  would 
have  been  thirty  certain.  The  persons  who 
came  down  with  me  were  so  much  pleased 
that  they  said  were  she  established  to  run 


Robert  Fulton  75 

periodically  they  never  would  go  in  any 
thing  else.  I  will  have  her  registered  and 
every  thing  done  which  I  can  recollect. 
Every  thing  looks  well  and  I  have  no  doubt 
will  be  very  productive. 

"Yours  truly, 

''Robert  Fulton." 

The  Clermonfs  trips  between  New  York 
and  Albany  were  continued  with  regularity 
until  the  close  of  navigation.  She  carried 
all  the  passengers  she  could  accommodate 
and  but  for  a  few  minor  accidents  had  a 
successful  season. 

The  following  is  the  tariff  of  prices,  for] 
**  Provisions,    good   berth   and   accommoda- 
tions": 

"To  Newburgh,       14  hours,  Fare,     $3  .00 
**  Poughkeepsie,  17       "         "  4.00 

"  Esopus,  20       "         "  5 .00 

"  Hudson,  30       "         **  5.50 

"  Albany  36       "         "  7.00" 

All  passengers  not  bound  to  regular  land- 
ings were  charged  one  dollar  for  every  twenty 


76  The  Story  of 

miles  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  come  on 
board  or  to  be  put  ashore  for  less  than  a 
dollar  fare. 

The  following  is  a  description  of  the  Cler- 
mont by  Professor  Renwick  as  she  appeared 
on  her  first  voyage  to  Albany : 

"She  was  very  unlike  any  of  her  success- 
ors, and  very  dissimilar  from  the  shape  in 
which  she  appeared  a  few  months  afterward. 
With  a  model  resembling  a  Long  Island  skiff, 
she  was  decked  for  a  short  distance  at  stem 
and  stem.  The  engine  was  open  to  \4ew, 
and  from  the  engine  aft  a  house  like  that 
of  a  canal-boat  was  raised  to  cover  the  boiler 
and  the  apartment  for  the  officers.  There 
were  no  wheel-guards.  The  rudder  was  of 
the  shape  used  in  sailing-vessels,  and  moved 
by  a  tiller.  The  boiler  was  of  the  form  then 
used  in  Watt's  engines,  and  was  set  in  ma- 
sonry. The  condenser  was  of  the  size  used 
habitually  in  land  engines,  and  stood,  as 
was  the  practice  in  them,  in  a  large  cold- 
water  cistern.  The  weight  of  the  masonry 
and   the  great   capacity  of   the  cold-water 


Robert  Fulton  77 

cistern  diminished  very  materially  the  buoy- 
ancy of  the  vessel.  The  rudder  had  so 
little  power  that  she  could  hardly  be  man- 
aged. The  skippers  of  the  river  craft,  who 
at  once  saw  that  their  business  was  doomed, 
took  advantage  of  the  unwieldiness  of  the 
vessel  to  run  foul  of  her  as  soon  as  they 
thought  they  had  the  law  on  their  side. 
Thus,  in  several  instances,  the  steamer 
reached  one  or  the  other  terminus  of  the 
route  with  but  a  single  wheel." 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  CLERMONT  REBUILT  AND  NAME  CHANGED 
TO  THE  NORTH  RIVER — FURTHER  LEGIS- 
LATION 

At  the  close  of  navigation  in  1807,  ^^^ 
Clermont  was  taken  to  what  was  then 
called  Lower  Red  Hook,  the  bay  south  of 
Tivoli,  and  ship  carpenters  from  Hudson 
enlarged  her,  a  new  boiler  made  of  heavy 
sheet  copper  was  put  in,  and  other  altera- 
tions made  so  that  about  May  i,  1808,  she 
was  launched  and  called  the  North  River.  She 
had  been  made  more  comfortable  and  length- 
ened to  one  hundred  and  forty  feet,  the  shafts 
of  her  wheels,  which  were  of  cast  iron  and 
had  proved  incapable  of  sustaining  the 
weight  to  w^hich  they  were  subjected,  had 
been  replaced  with  shafts  of  wrought  iron 

which  were    supplied  with  wheel-guards  or 

78 


Story  of  Robert  Fulton         79 

outer  supports.  Her  machinery  was  fitted 
at  the  dock  at  the  foot  of  Dey  Street,  which 
was  at  that  time  far  uptown. 

By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  1807-8 
the  exclusive  privilege  of  navigating  by 
steam  the  waters  of  the  State  granted  to 
Livingston  and  Fulton  was  extended  for 
five  years  for  each  additional  boat  built  and 
put  in  use,  provided  the  time  should  not 
exceed  thirty  years  from  its  passage.  This 
act  also  provided  that  combinations  to 
destroy  the  Clermont  or  any  other  steam- 
boat, or  wilful  attempts  to  injure  her  were 
public  offences  punishable  by  fine  and  im-J 
prisonment. 

While  this  newly  invented  steamboat  was 
regarded  with  curiosity  by  all  and  hailed  as  a 
great  accommodation  by  those  whose  business 
engagements  and  inclinations  demanded  swift 
and  frequent  trips  between  New  York  and 
Albany,  those  who  were  otherwise  interested^ 
and  engaged  in  river  transportation  could  not 
but  regard  her  as  a  dangerous  competitor  and 
during  her  voyages  many  attempts  were  made 


8o  The  Story  of 

to  injure  her.  Vessels  ran  into  her  intention- 
ally and  her  progress  was  impeded  as  much 

j  as  the  river  men  dared. 

^  The  following  letter  is  from  Robert  Fulton 
to  the  captain  of  the  Clermont. 

*'  New  York,  Oct.  9,  1807. 

"Capt.  Brink,  Sir: — Inclosed  is  the  num- 
ber of  voyages  which  it  is  intended  the  boat 
should  nm  this  season.  You  may  have 
them  published  in  the  Albany  papers.  As 
she  is  strongly  made  and  every  one  except 
Jackson  under  your  command  you  must 
insist  on  each  one  doing  his  duty,  or  turn 
him  on  shore  and  put  another  in  his  place. 
Everything  must  be  kept  in  order — every- 
thing in  its  place,  and  all  parts  of  the  boat 
scoured  and  clean.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  tell 
men  to  do  a  thing,  but  stand  over  them  and 
make  them  do  it.  One  pair  of  good  and 
quick  eyes  is  worth  six  pair  of  hands  in  a 
commander.  Let  no  man  be  idle  when  there 
is  the  least  thing  to  do  and  make  them  move 
quickly.  Run  no  risque  of  any  kind;  when 
Tyou   meet   or  overtake   vessels   beating  or 


Robert  Fulton  8i 

crossing  your  way,  always  run  under  their 
stem,  if  there  be  the  least  doubt  that  you 
cannot    clear    their  head    by  50  yards    or  ^ 
more. 

"  Give  the  amount  of  receipts  and  expenses 
every  week  to  the  Chancellor. 

*'  Your  most  obedient,  ^ 

'*  Robert  Fulton.** 


CHAPTER  XI 

PATENTS — LIVINGSTON  CONCEDES  TO  FULTON 
THE  INVENTION  OF  SUCCESSFUL  STEAM- 
BOAT  LITIGATION     AS     TO     PATENTS — 

BOATS  SAILING  HUDSON  AND  THEIR  SPEED 
FERRYBOATS 

Soon  after  the  construction  of  the  Cler- 
mont was  begun  Mr.  Fulton  had  applied 
for  patents.  As  the  work  progressed  he 
made  improvements  which  were  not  covered 

Y^by  the  applications  already  filed.  His  first 
patent  is  dated  February  ii,  1809,  and  on 
February  9,  181 1,  he  took  out  another  patent 

.^  for  improvements.      The  Clermont  had  been 

open   to  the  inspection  of  the  public,  and 

patents  were  applied  for  by  various  persons 

for    improvements    on    which    patents    had 

already  been  issued  to  Robert  Fulton.     It 

had  been  agreed  between  him  and  Chancellor 

82 


Story  of  Robert  Fulton         83 

Livingston  that  the  patents  should  be  is- 
sued in  Mr.  Fulton's  name,  which  could 
not  have  been  done  unless  he  swore  the 
invention  and  improvements  were  solely 
his.  In  volume  two  of  the  American  Medi- 
cal and  Philosophical  Register,  pages  260- 
262,  Mr.  Livingston,  in  ''An  Historical 
Account  of  the  Application  of  Steam  for 
the  Propelling  of  Boats, "  acknowledges  that 
all  his  efforts  to  successfully  invent  a  steam- 
boat had  been  unavailing,  explains  the 
nature  of  the  partnership  between  him  and  . 
Mr,  Fulton,  and  shows  what  part  the  latter 
took  in  the  experiments.  A  brief  account 
is  then  given  of  what  had  been  accomplished 
and  to  what  extent  the  invention  had  been 
used. 

Mr.  Fulton  and  the  Chancellor  found 
themselves  overwhelmed  with  litigation  over 
infringements  of  their  patents  and  harassed  , 
by  the  competition  of  rival  boats  which 
were  to  have  been  propelled  by  a  pendulum. 
When  this  was  shown  to  be  impracticable, 
steam  and  the  machinery  of  the  boats  run 


84  The  Story  of 

by  Mr.  Fulton  were  very  coolly  adopted. 
There  seems  to  have  been,  as  is  almost 
always  the  case  with  profitable  inventions, 
an  attempt  on  the  part  of  men  of  high 
standing  and  great  influence  to  rob  the  in- 
ventor of  the  credit  and  profit  his  genius 
and  patient  effort  had  won.  In  1811  the 
legislature  passed  on  act  providing  for  sum- 
mary remedies  for  violations  of  Livingston 
and  Fulton's  rights  to  the  exclusive  navi- 
gation of  the  waters  of  the  State  with  boats 
moved  by  steam  as  they  then  existed, 
but  exempted  from  its  provisions  two  boats 
then  running  on  the  Hudson  River  and  one 
on  Lake  Champlain,  on  the  ground  that 
the  act  as  to  those  vessels  would  be  e%  post 
facto. 

Chancellor  Livingston  and  Mr.  Fulton 
applied  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United 
States  for  an  injimction  restraining  those 
vessels.  This  application  was  denied  on  the 
ground  that  the  court  lacked  jurisdiction. 
Resort  was  then  had  to  the  Court  of  Chancery 
of  the  State  and  the  application  was  denied; 


Robert  Fulton  85 

an  appeal  was  then  taken  to  the  Court  of 
Errors,  which  for  such  an  appeal  was  com- 
posed of  the  Senate  and  five  judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  There,  in  the  winter  of 
181 2,  the  decision  of  the  Court  of  Chancery- 
was  unanimously  reversed  and  a  perpetual 
injimction  ordered. 

In  1808  a  second  vessel  of  about  three 
hundred  tons  was  built  by  Mr.  Fulton  and 
the  Chancellor  called  the  Car  of  Neptune. 
In  less  than  two  years  from  the  first  voyage 
of  the  Clermont  a  regular  service  between 
New  York  and  Albany  had  been  established. 

The  Paragon  was  built  in  181 1 — 331  tons. 
In  1 813  a  boat  left  New  York  for  Albany 
every  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Saturday 
afternoon  at  five  o'clock.  Before  181 7,  the 
time  consumed  in  making  a  voyage  between 
the  two  cities  was  reduced  to  eighteen  hours. 

After  1820  the  old  boats  were  withdrawn 
and  new  and  more  commodious  ones  re- 
placed them.  After  the  expiration  of  the 
exclusive  right  granted  to  Livingston  and 
Fulton,    great    improvements    were    made. 


86  The  Story  of 

In  1826  there  was  a  daily  service  established 
and  the  time  had  been  lessened  to  fifteen 
hours  and  competition  had  brought  about 
considerable  reduction  in  the  fares.  In 
1836  a  trip  was  made  between  New  York 
and  Albany  in  ten  hours  and  twenty  minutes ; 
in  1840  in  eight  hours  and  twenty-seven 
minutes;  in  1841  in  seven  hours  and 
twenty-eight  minutes;  in  1862  in  six  hours 
and  fifty-one  minutes;  and  in  1864  in  six 
hours  and  fifty  minutes. 

The  change  that  has  taken  place  in  the 
size  of  the  boats  on  the  Hudson  River,  on 
the  ocean,  and  in  fact  wherever  steamboats 
are  used,  and  in  the  comfort  and  luxury 
of  their  appointments  and  accommodations 
would  scarcely  be  realized.  The  last  boat 
launched  upon  the  Hudson,  the  Hendrick 
Hudson,  which  made  her  first  voyage  in 
August,  1906,  is  an  example. 

In  181 1  and  181 2  Mr.  Fulton  built  two 
steam  ferryboats  for  the  North  River  and 
one  for  the  East,  each  of  which  consisted 
of  two  complete  hulls  united  by  a  deck  or 


Robert  Fulton  87 

bridge,  both  ends  being  sharp,  thus  pre- 
senting less  resistance  than  a  boat  of  much 
less  beam.  Each  had  a  rudder,  so  that 
no  time  was  lost  in  turning  about.  Each 
boat  had  a  beam  of  ten  feet,  a  keel  eighty 
feet  long,  and  five  feet  hold.  They  were 
separated  ten  feet  and  confined  by  strong 
transverse  beam  knees  and  diagonal  traces, 
a  deck  being  thus  formed  thirty  feet  wide 
and  eighty  feet  long.  The  propelling  wheel 
and  all  the  other  machinery  were  placed 
between  the  boats  and  a  deck  ten  feet  wide 
on  either  side  was  left  for  vehicles,  horses, 
and  cattle.  Floating  docks  were  built  to 
receive  these  boats  much  like  those  now  in 
use  at  our  ferry  landings. 


CHAPTER  XII 

EXPOSURE    OF    PERPETUAL    MOTION    FRAUD — 

BRITISH  ATTEMPT  TO  CAPTURE  FULTON 

CLAIM   OF  W.   STEVENS  TO   INVENTION   OF 
SUCCESSFUL  STEAMBOAT  DENIED. 

Mr.  Fulton's  keenness  in  regard  to  ma- 
chinery is  illustrated  by  his  experience 
with  a  perpetual  motion  machine  which 
was  exhibited  in  New  York  in  1813.  For 
some  time  he  could  not  be  persuaded  to  go 
and  see  it,  although  crowds  had  visited  the 
isolated  house  in  the  suburbs  in  which  it 
had  been  placed.  He  finally  consented  to 
go,  paid  the  admission  fee  of  one  dollar,  and 
after  he  had  been  a  short  time  in  the  room 
in  which  the  machine  was,  said,  "Why  this 
is  a  crank  motion,"  his  trained  ear  having 
detected  an  unequal  velocity  in  the  revolu- 
tions of  the  wheels.     After  a  brief  conver- 

88 


Story  of  Robert  Fulton         89 

sation  with  the  person  having  the  machine 
in  charge,  he  told  him  he  was  an  impostor 
and  that  his  machine  was  kept  in  motion 
by  some  concealed  means.  Mr.  Fulton 
then  informed  those  present  that  the  machine 
was  a  fraud  and  if  they  would  support  him, 
he  would  expose  it  or  pay  the  damages. 
Everybody  consenting,  he  knocked  away 
some  laths  which  extended  from  the  machine 
to  the  walls  of  the  room,  apparently  to  steady 
the  machine.  A  string  of  catgut  was  exposed 
connected  with  the  machine  and  running 
through  the  wall  to  a  loft  several  yards 
away,  where  an  old  man  was  found  turning 
a  crank  as  Mr.  Pulton  had  suggested.  The 
crowd  present  immediately  destroyed  the 
machine  and  the  exhibitor  fled. 

During  the  war  of  181 2  with  Great  Britain,  1 
when  our  ports  were  menaced  and  often 
blockaded  by  the  armed  ships  of  the  enemy, 
the  reputation  Mr.  Fulton  had  established 
throughout  the  world  as  an  inventor  of 
submarine  boats  and  torpedoes  made  the 
English  wary  of  coming  into  close  contact 


go  The  Story  of 

with  our  ships  and  shores.  While  his  inven- 
tions were  avoided  and  watched  for,  a  sharp 
lookout  was  kept  upon  the  inventor  and  his 
movements,  and  efforts  were  made  to  cap- 
ture him.  On  one  occasion  a  house  on  the 
seashore  at  which  he  had  been  visiting  was 
surrounded  and  taken  possession  of  by  the 
British  just  after  Mr.  Fulton  had  left. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  manu- 
script in  the  handwriting  of  Robert  Fulton, 
dated  February,  1813: 

"Steam  boat  experiments  made  on  the 
river  Seine  near  Paris  by  R.  Fulton  in  the 
years  1802  and  1803,  which  being  success- 
full  demonstrated  the  powers,  proportions 
and  velocities  of  the  machinery  to  drive  a 
given  boat  a  given  distance  in  a  given  time, 
which  being  the  first  time  such  discovery 
was  made  is  in  fact  the  date  of  the  invention 
of  Usefull  Steamboats:  for  previous  to  the 
discovery  no  rule  had  been  laid  down  to 
secure  success.  The  public  thought  usefull 
steamboats  impracticable  and  those  few 
who  were  making   experiments  were  doing 


Robert  Fulton  91 

them  feebly  without  aid  or  guide,  groping 
their  way  Hke  men  in  the  dark. 

*'  In  1806  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Fulton 
offered  to  take  W.  Stevens  in  as  a  part- 
ner, he  refused  asserting  that  Mr.  Fulton's 
plan  could  not  succeed.  He  W.  Stevens  in 
the  following  year  attempted  to  make  a 
small  boat  moved  by  high  steam  and  Skulls, 
but  in  August  1807  seeing  Mr.  Fulton's 
North  River  boat  start  from  New  York  and 
run  to  Albany  at  the  rate  of  5  miles  an 
hour  with  wheels  and  an  engine  of  proper 
powers,  he  abandoned  Skulls  and  put  wheels 
to  his  small  boat  here,  then  after  Mr.  Fulton's 
ocular  demonstration  of  the  simplicity  and 
value  of  wheels  Mr.  Stevens  made  use  of 
them;  but  previous  to  which  he  could  not 
tell  and  did  not  know  if  oars,  skulls,  paddels, 
flyers  like  those  of  wind-mills  were  best 
or  as  good  as  wheels,  but  after  seeing  Mr. 
Fulton's  wheels  he  did  not  know  their  pro- 
portions and  power  of  engine  to  drive  the 
boat.  He  then  composed  in  1808  an  engine 
with  two  small  cylinders,  hoping  to  do  with- 


92  The  Story  of 

out  a  fly  wheel,  and  made  the  water  wheels, 
about  9  feet  diameter.  The  boiler  was 
composed  of  8  or  ten  small  sheets  from 
cylinders,  the  cylinders  had  not  sufficient 
power  for  the  boat  and  the  diameter  of  the 
water  wheels  were  too  small — the  boiler 
and  whole  plan  failed  and  he  abandoned 
them;  all  that  time  however  Mr.  Fulton's 
North  River  Steamboat  was  successfully 
running  to  Albany  and  twice  a  week  past 
Mr.  Stevens  door  at  Hoboken,  he  then  made 
a  cylinder  the  same  diameter  as  that  in 
Mr.  Fulton's  boat,  but  six  inches  shorter; 
he  constructed  new  wheels  twelve  feet  in 
diameter  and  copying  from  Mr.  Fulton  all 
that  was  essential  to  secure  success ;  his  boat 
did  in  the  summer  of  1809  succeed  on  the 
Delaware.  He  in  this  year  took  out  a 
patent  for  some  unescential  alterations  in 
the  combination  of  the  machinery  which 
has  nothing  to  do  with  the  success  of  the 
boat,  and  for  a  kind  of  floats  to  take  a  pur- 
chase on  the  water  instead  of  wheels,  which 
floats    however    he    has    never    used — and 


Robert  Fulton  93 

which  can  not  be  used  and  are  in  themselves 
sufficient  proof  that  Mr.  Stevens  did  not 
understand  the  subject,  and  could  not,  or 
at  least  did  not,  succeed  but  by  copying 
Mr.  Fulton.  Indeed  so  sencible  at  this 
time  of  Mr.  Fulton's  just  claim  to  the  in- 
vention of  Usefull  Steamboats  that  he 
accepted  of  a  grant  from  Livingston  and 
Fulton  to  work  under  their  patent  on  cer- 
tain waters  and  nowhere  else;  of  which 
waters  the  Chesapeak  is  the  most  South- 
ward ;  in  the  preamble  of  the  contract 
he  acknowledges  Mr.  Fulton's  priority  and 
invention  of  Usefull  Steamboats.  Mr. 
Fulton  gave  to  him  grants  which  managed 
with  address  would  produce  him  $15,000 
a  year — and  this  is  the  man  who  would 
now  oppose  and  invade  the  rights  of  his 
benefactor — every  honest  man  and  friend 
to  Usefull  talents  will  set  their  faces  against 
such  Unjust  and  illiberal  conduct — the  inge- 
nuity which  gives  to  our  country  inventions 
in  a  national  point  of  view  worth  millions 
Merits  its  warmest  support  and  protection, 


94  The  Story  of 

and  the  pirates  of  mental  property  must  be 
punished,  or  no  one  who  has  talents  will 
exsert  them.  The  first  Succesfull  Steam- 
boat which  was  ever  put  into  actual  and 
permanent  Operation  and  which  removed 
from  the  Public  Mind  all  doubts  on  the 
practicalibilty  of  such  Boats,  was  built  and 
Navigated  on  Hudson  River  in  the  State 
of  New  York  in  the  Autumn  of  1807.  On 
■'the  nth  of  February,  1809  ^^i*-  Fulton 
received  his  patent.  On  the  3rd  of  Jan. 
1 8 10  Mr.  Stevens  obtained  a  patent  not 
for  a  Steamboat,  but  for  a  Boiler  and  par- 
ticular combination  of  Machinery  and  the 
before  mentioned  floats.  Mr.  Fulton's  sec- 
ond patent,  which  is  merely  for  some  com- 
binations in  the  machinery  is  dated  Feb. 
9th,  181 1 ;  Since  Mr.  Fulton  has  invented 
and  proved  the  Utility  of  Steam  Boats, 
but  particularly  since  they  are  found  to  be 
profitable,  many  pretenders  have  sprung 
up.  An  Englishman  by  the  name  of  Coxen, 
after  ascerting  that  he  had  made  a  steam 
boat    in    England    run    11    miles  an    hour 


Robert  Fulton  95 

formed  a  Company  with  a  capital  of  ;i£2o,ooo 
and  built  a  Boat  at  Philadelphia  which 
could  not  run  i  mile  an  hour ;  his  plan  has 
totally  failed;  thus  proving  his  ignorance 
of  the  subject  and  little  respect  for  truth. 
Oliver  Evans,  who  has  Taken  up  the  Idea  of 
Steam  Engines  with  high  steam,  and  calls 
it  a  new  invention,  although  they  are  men- 
tioned In  Boulton  and  Watt's  patent  26 
years  ago  and  have  had  to  be  tried  and 
Abandoned  by  the  best  engineers  in  England, 
Now  says  that  he  invented  just  Such  Steam 
Boats  as  are  now  in  use,  30  years  ago — the 
Public  certainly  owes  but  little  to  this  great 
genius  who  has  concealed  such  usefull  know- 
ledge for  30  years — had  he  died  two  years 
ago  all  this  part  of  his  usefull  invention 
would  have  been  lost.  But  Oliver  finds 
It  Vastly  convenient  to  date  model  inven- 
tions  as  his  own  30  years  ago,  he  has  con- 
trived to  patent  almost  the  whole  machinery 
and  lay  a  tax  on  the  public;  he  has  writ- 
ten a  book  of  dreams  on  Steam — car- 
riages. Boats  etc.  without  showing  how  to 


/ 


96  The  Story  of 

make  or  put  either  in  Successfull  operation. 
And  then  modestly  says  if  anyone  renders 
such  inventions  usefull  they  must  .  .  . 
him — these  are  pretensions  on  a  great  scale — 
Hitherto  however  all  the  Steam  Boats  which 
are  in  operation  have  grown  out  of  Mr.  Ful- 
ton's Success,  and  in  all  their  escential  parts 
which  constitute  their  success  are  piracies 
of  his  invention,  or  constructed  under  his 
licence.  To  Produce  the  first  Usefull  Steam 
Boat  it  required  the  fortunate  circumstances 
of  Adequate  genius  and  Capital  in  the  same 
person  or  persons,  he  and  Mr.  Livingston 
had  both  and  they  persevered  to  success — 
had  they  not  done  so  it  is  a  fair  inferance 
that  there  would  not  now  be  a  usefull  Steam 
Boat  in  America  or  elsewhere.  Away  then 
with  your  Ephemeral  pretenders,  abortive 
experiments  and  imaginations  never  proved 
or  practiced;  give  Livingston  and  Fulton 
the  merit  and  reward  which  to  them  is  due. 
This  noble  invention  is  among  the  highest 
honors  and  Blessings  of  the  Nation.  Since 
their  Success  a  Steam  Boat  has  been  com- 


Robert  Fulton  97 

menced  to  run  from  Quebeck  to  Montreal,  7 
one  Runs  on  Lake  Champlain  to  Skeens- 
borough  in  state  of  New  York.  The  cele- 
brated boats  of  Livingston  and  Fulton  Run 
from  Albany  to  New  York — ^The  Steam  Boat 
of  Mr.  John  Livingston  under  the  patent  of 
Livingston  and  Fulton  nms  from  New  York 
to  Brunswick  N.  J. — the  boat  on  the  Del- 
aware, also  under  the  patent  of  Livingston 
and  Fulton  nms  from  Trenton  to  Phila. 
Boats  also  under  their  patent  and  Grants 
are  now  Building  to  carry  on  the  line  from 
Philadelphia  to  Baltimore.  Mr.  Fulton  is 
building  two  Boats  to  continue  the  line  from 
Washington  to  Potowmack  Creek  and  from 
Richmond  to  Norfolk — and  others  are  in 
contemplation  through  the  rivers  and  Bays 
to  Camden  and  St.  Marie's.  Boats  are  to 
be  Built  to  nm  from  Pittsburg  to  Louisville, 
and  two  are  building  by  Mr.  Fulton  to  run 
on  the  Mississippi  from  Louisville  to  New 
Orleans — one  is  to  be  built  to  Navigate  the 
Red  River  from  the  Mississippi  to  Nache- 
doches  on  the  way  to  Mexico.     So  that  the 


98         Story  of  Robert  Fulton 

prospect  is  that  in  three  years  from  this  date 
there  will  be  Steam  Boat  Communication 
from  Quebeck  to  St.  Maries.  Say  the  num- 
ber of  miles  will  not  be  more  than  number 

miles  land  carriage,  and  from  Quebeck 

to  Mexico  by  the  way  of  Pittsburg  say  the 

miles  will  not  be  more  than miles  of  land 

carriage — thus  my  countrymen  are  enter- 
prices  worthy  of  a  great  nation  the  result  of 
the  virtuous  labours  of  Livingston  and  Ful- 
ton ;  where  there  is  the  honest  heart,  the  in- 
dividual proud  of  his  country's  fame  who 
would  deprive  them  of  their  honour  and 
reward?" 


CHAPTER  XIII 
ROBERT    Fulton's    death — funeral — will 

Robert  Fulton  was  not  the  sole  inventor 
of  the  steamboat.  Efforts  in  that  line  had 
been  made  by  various  individuals,  some  of 
which  had  been  almost  successful,  but  it 
remained  for  him  to  accomplish  what  the 
others  had  failed  to  do,  he  applied  steam  to 
navigation  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it 
a  success  financially  and  otherwise.  His 
achievement  is  not  in  the  least  belittled 
when  we  admit  that  his  success  was  due 
largely  to  his  association  with  Chancellor 
Livingston.  The  latter  assisted  not  only 
with  advice  on  a  subject  in  regard  to  which 
he  was  thoroughly  posted  but  insured  success 
by  the  use  of  his  wealth,  influence,  and 
political  power. 

Both  he  and  Fulton  should  have  received 

99 


loo  The  Story  of 

great  pecuniary  rewards.  It  was  an  un- 
fortunate error  of  judgment  to  procure  their 
monopoly  from  the  legislature  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  they  should  have  applied  to 
Congress  and  in  all  probability  could  quite  as 
easily  have  secured  the  grant  there.  The 
field  would  have  then  been  unlimited  and 
no  questions  would  have  arisen  as  to  conflict 
of  jurisdiction. 

The  protection  of  their  rights  was  much 
affected  by  the  death  of  Chancellor  Living- 
ston, which  occurred  February  26,  18 13, 
and  which  was  so  quickly  followed  by  the 
death  of  Robert  Fulton.  The  former  left  no 
son,  and  the  latter's  was  not  of  an  age  to 
protect  his  father's  interests,  and  the  dreams 
of  fortune  in  which  both  had  naturally  and 
properly  indulged  were  never  realized. 

In  January,  181$,  Robert  Fulton  went  to 
Trenton  to  appear  before  the  New  Jersey 
legislature  on  a  petition  to  repeal  the  act 
which  interfered  with  the  sailing  of  steam- 
boats between  New  York  and  New  Jersey. 
The  weather  was  unusually  severe  and  Mr. 


Robert  Fulton  loi 

Fulton  was  obliged  to  wait  in  the  legis- 
lative hall,  which  was  badly  heated,  and 
several  hours  were  consumed  crossing  the 
river  which  was  blocked  with  ice.  He 
caught  cold  and  before  he  had  fully  re- 
covered went  to  superintend  the  work  on 
a  steam  frigate  he  was  building  for  the 
United  States  government.  He  was  greatly 
exposed,  added  to  his  cold,  and  on  returning 
home  became  very  ill  and  on  February  24, 
181 5,  died.  His  death  came  as  a  great  shock 
to  his  friends  and  the  community.  No  one 
had  supposed  that  his  life  was  in  danger. 
His  remains,  enclosed  in  a  metallic  coffin, 
covered  with  mahogany,  on  which  was  a 
plate  with  his  name  and  age,  were  placed  in 
the  vault  of  his  father-in-law,  Walter  Living- 
ston, and  of  Robert  C.  Livingston,  who  were 
sons  of  Robert,  the  third  Lord  of  the  Manor, 
in  Trinity  churchyard  in  the  City  of  New 
York.  The  grief  manifested  by  all  classes 
was  unusual.  He  had  become  a  universal 
favorite  and  his  death  in  the  midst  of 
his  triumphs  and  labors  was  regarded  as 


102  The  Story  of 

imtimely  and  with  universal  sorrow.  His 
fiineral  was  attended  by  all  the  officials  of 
the  nation,  state,  and  city  who  were  then 
in  New  York,  representatives  of  the  prin- 
cipal societies,  and  a  great  crowd  of  people 
among  whom  w^ere  the  most  prominent 
citizens.  As  the  funeral  procession  passed 
from  No.  i  State  Street,  where  he  had  re- 
sided with  his  family,  to  Trinity  Church, 
minute  guns  were  fired  from  the  battery  of 
the  steam  frigate  he  was  engaged  in  build- 
ing at  the  time  of  his  death  for  the  United 
States  government.     The  legislature,  which 

;  was  then  in  session,  passed  a  resolution 
that  both  houses  should  wear  mourning 
for  six  weeks.  This  is  the  only  instance 
in  this  State  in  which  such  respect  has 
been    shown   on    the    death    of    a  private 

[citizen. 

In  1 90 1  a  monument  of  granite,  with  a 
medallion  of  him  in  bronze,  was  erected  to 
his  memory  by  the  American  Society  of  Me- 
chanical Engineers  on  the  south  side  of 
Trinity  churchyard. 


ROBERT   FULTON 


FROM   THE  BRONZE  ON    THE   MONUMENT   IN   TRINITY  CHURCHYARD   IN    NEW  YORK 


Robert  Fulton  103 

There  has  been  for  many  years  a  statue 
of  Robert  Fulton,  with  a  clay  model  of  the 
Clermont,  at  the  entrance  to  Fulton  Ferry, 
Brooklyn,  New  York. 

His  will,  which  was  made  about  a  month 
before  his  death,  provided  for  an  annuity  of 
seven  thousand  dollars  for  his  wife,  devised 
the  farm,  purchased  out  his  first  earnings 
and  on  which  he  settled  his  mother,  to  one 
of  his  sisters,  and  disposed  of  a  large  estate. 
His  affairs  on  account  of  litigations  over 
infringements  of  his  patents,  and  the  mis- 
conduct or  mistake  of  some  of  the  agents 
he  had  employed  to  build  boats  under  his 
patents,  which  he  had  contracted  to  furnish 
to  other  companies,  were  greatly  involved 
and  his  wife  and  children  were  left  penniless.  | 
At  the  time  of  his  death  the  United  States 
government  owed  Mr.  Fulton  one  hundred: 
thousand  dollars  for  expenditures  under  his  ^ 
contracts  and  for  the  use  of  the  vessel,  the 
Vesuvius,  which  was  owned  by  him,  at  the 
battle  of  New  Orleans.  Twenty  years  after 
his  death,  in  1835,  an  act  was  introduced  in 


I04       Story  of  Robert  Fulton 

Congress  for  the  relief  of  the  heirs  of  Robert 
Fulton.    This  was  not  passed  until  1846,  and 

/  then  interest  was  not  allowed  on  the  amount 
claimed  and  that  amount  was  reduced  to 

j  seventy-six  thousand  three  hundred  dollars. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


Fulton's     marriage  —  descendants  —  de- 
scription  OF  HIM 


Robert  Fulton  married  in  1806  Harriet 

Livingston,  a  brilliant  beauty  and  heiress,  I 

a  daughter  of  Walter  Livingston,  who  was 

the  second  son  of  the  third  Lord  of  the 

Manor  and  a  brother  of  Henry  who  built 

the    fine   old     place   in    Columbia    County 

known  as  *'The  Hill."     This  wedding  was 

characterized   by   the  splendor,  wealth,  and 

rank    of    the    Livingstons    and    the    virile 

beauty,  personal  charm,  and  romantic  career 

of  this  successful  young  inventor  and  man 

of  the  world.     There  were  a  son  and  three 

daughters  bom.      The  son  died  unmarried 

and   at   an   early   age.      Mrs.    Fulton,  who 

had    shown   more   than   ordinary    affection 

for  her  husband,  removed    to  her  father's 

105 


io6  The  Story  of 

place,  "Teviotdale,"  north  of  Germantown 
in  Columbia  County,  in  1815  and  resided 
there  with  her  children. 

Shortly  afterwards  she  married  an  Eng- 
lishman, Charles  Augustus  Dale,  whose  chief 
interest  appears  to  have  been  in  horses. 
It  is  related  of  him  that,  on  a  wager  that 
he  could  drive  from  New  York  to  Teviot- 
dale,  his  wife's  residence,  a  pair  of  horses 
in  less  time  than  it  would  take  the  steam- 
boat to  sail  from  New  York  to  Chancellor 
Li\dngston's  dock,  about  one  hundred  miles, 
he  won,  but  one  of  his  horses  died  almost 
immediately  after  arriving. 

Mrs.  Dale  accompanied  her  husband  to 
England  where  they  both  died.  After  her 
departure,  her  children  by  Robert  Fulton 
were  cared  for  and  educated  by  the  widow 
of  her  brother  Henry  Walter  Livingston. 
Chancellor  Livingston  was  not  closely  re- 
lated to  Robert  Fulton's  wife. 

It  seems  as  if  a  cruel  fate  had  interposed 
to  prevent  the  fame  of  Robert  Fulton  being 
preserved.     His  home  had  been  broken  up 


Robert  Fulton  107 

and  his  possessions  scattered,  many  of  them 
passing  into  the  hands  of  strangers.  His 
seal  was  given  to  a  person  not  a  member 
of  the  Fulton  family  and  possession  of  it 
retained  for  many  years  in  spite  of  repeated 
efforts  to  obtain  it  by  one  of  his  grandsons. 
It  was  recently  given  to  some  one  who 
promptly  returned  it  to  a  member  of  the 
Fulton  family.  There  seems  to  be  a  singular 
lack  of  delicacy  or  sense  of  justice  in  many 
people  about  dealing  in',  obtaining,  and  re- 
taining possession  of  the  heirlooms  of  fam- 
ilies to  which  they  are  not  in  any  way 
related. 

His  fine  Sheraton  dining  table  seems  to 
have  been  saved  from  the  wreck.  It  was 
for  several  years  used  as  the  council  table 
of  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical 
Engineers  and  is  now  the  board  room 
table  of  the  Trustees  of  the  United  Engi- 
neering Building  in  New  York  City.  That 
society  also  owns  a  water  color  plan  by 
Robert  Fulton  for  a  high  level  canal. 

The  only  child  of  Robert  Fulton's  daughter 


io8  The  Story  of 

Mary,  Robert  Fulton  Ludlow,  is  an  artist  and 
lives  in  a  fine  old  mansion  built  by  the  Lud- 
lows  about  1786  at  Claverack,  New  York. 

The  Reverend  Robert  Fulton  Crary,  D.D., 
an  Episcopal  clergyman,  who  resides  at 
Matteawan,  New  York,  is  the  son  of  another 
daughter.  He  has  a  son  who  bears  the 
name  of  his  distinguished  great-grandfather, 
and  three  daughters.  These  are  the  only 
descendants  of  Robert  Fulton.  Dr.  Crary 
has  inherited  the  artistic  gifts  of  his  grand- 
father. 

Cadwallader  D.  Golden  delivered  a  bio- 
graphical memoir  of  Robert  Fulton,  who 
was  his  personal  friend,  before  the  Literary 
and  Philosophical  Society  of  New  York  in 
181 7,  which  upon  request  he  presented  to 
the  Society  for  publication.  It  was  resolved 
that  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  should  be 
appropriated  ''towards  the  erection  of  a 
pedestrian  statue"  of  Robert  Fulton. 

He  is  described  in  these  words :  ' '  Mr.  Fulton 
was  about  six  feet  high.  His  person  was 
slender,    but    well    proportioned    and    well 


Robert  Fulton  109 

formed.  Nature  had  made  him  a  gentleman 
and  bestowed  upon  him  ease  and  graceful- 
ness. He  had  much  too  good  sense  for  the 
least  affectation,  and  a  modest  confidence 
in  his  own  worth  and  talents  gave  him 
an  unembarrassed  deportment  in  all  com- 
panies. His  features  were  strong  and  of 
a  manly  beauty;  he  had  large  dark  eyes 
and  a  projecting  brow  expressive  of  in- 
telligence and  thought;  his  temper  was 
mild  and  his  disposition  lively;  he  was 
fond  of  society,  which  he  always  enlivened 
by  cheerful,  cordial  manners  and  instructed 
or  pleased  by  his  sensible  conversation. 
He  expressed  himself  with  energy,  fluency, 
and  correctness  and  as  he  owed  more  to 
his  own  experience  and  reflections  than 
to  books,  his  sentiments  were  often  in- 
teresting from  their  originality. 

*'  In  all  his  domestic  relations,  he  was 
zealous,  kind,  generous,  liberal,  and  affection- 
ate. He  knew  of  no  use  for  money  but  as 
it  was  subservient  to  charity,  hospitality, 
and    the    sciences.      But   what   was    most 


I  lo       Story  of  Robert  Fulton 

conspicuous  in  his  character  was  his  calm 
constancy,  his  industry,  and  that  indefatig- 
able patience  and  perseverance  which  always 
enabled  him  to  overcome  difficulties." 

Robert  Fulton  was  one  of  those  splendid 
and  wonderful  gifts  for  which  this  country 
and  the  world  have  been  so  often  indebted 
to  Ireland.  Simple  surroundings,  adverse 
circumstances,  in  fact  all  the  things  which 
would  seem  to  combine  to  keep  people  in 
obscurity  have  no  effect  upon  such  souls 
as  Fulton's.  They  rise  and  shine,  their 
achievements  fill  the  pages  of  history,  and 
their  discoveries  and  inventions  benefit  the 
Nations  for  all  time. 


INDEX 


Academy  of  Sciences,  36 
Alteration    to    the    Cler- 
mont, 68,  78 
American  Citizen,  The,  70, 

71,  73     ,, 
American  Med.  and  Phil. 

Register,  83 

American  Society  of  Me- 
chanical Engineers,  102, 
107 

Armstrong,  Gen.  John,  22, 

''  B 

Bandell,  Citizen,  50 
Barlow,  Joel,   20-23,   28, 

30.  39.  54 
Barth^lemy,  M.,  26,  31 

Birmingham,  14,  15 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  31, 

34,  ZSy  37 
Boulton  &  Watt,  15,  46, 

50 
Bridgewater,  Duke  of,  13 

Brown,  Charles,  65 
C 

Caffarelle,  M.,  36 

Carnot,  M.,  31 

Car  of  Neptune,  the,  85 

Chancellor  Livingston,  40, 
57-63,  66,  67,  69,  70, 
83,  84,  91,  96-100,  106 

Circuit  Court,  U.  S.,  84 


Clarendon,    Lord,    28,    29 
Clermont,  67,  70 
Clermont,  the,  65  66,  67, 

68,69,75,76,78,79,80, 

82,   85,    103 
Colden,    Cadwallader   D., 

108 
Columbiad,  the,  21 
Court  of  Chancery,  84,  85 
Court  of  Errors,  85 
Coxen,  Mr.,  94 
Crary,  Robert  Fulton,  108 

D 

Dale,    Charles    Augustus, 

106 
Devon,  Earls  of,  12 
Directory,  French,  34 

E 

Evans,  Oliver,  95 
Evening  Post,  The,  70 

F 

Ferryboats,  86,  87 
First  Consul,  34,  35,  37 
Francois,  Mme,,  25,  27,  28 
Franklin,    Benjamin,    11 
French  Directory,  26,  31, 

34 

Fulton,  Mary,   107 

Fulton,  Robert,  acquaint- 
ance with  Barlow,  2 1 

ancestors,  i 


III 


112 


Index 


Fulton,  Robert— (Cont'd) 
apprentice  to  jewel- 
ler, 7 

artist,  3,  7,  8,  11,  12 

birth,  3 

boyhood  inventions, 


4,  5.  6 

—  character,  5 

—  childhood,  3-7 

—  civil   engineer,    14 

—  claim    against    Fed- 
eral Government,  103 

—  death  of,   10 1 

—  descendants,  107, 108 

—  description  of,  108 

—  funeral,  102 
in    England,    11-17, 


38,54 

—  in  France,  19 

—  Fourth   of  July,    5 

—  inventions  as  to  ca- 
nals, 17 

—  inventions      as      to 


canal  locks,  17 

—  invention  as  to  pad- 
dle-wheels,  6 

—  invention  as  to  saw- 


ing and  polishing  mar- 
ble,  17 

—  invention       as        to 
spinning  flax,  17 

—  inventions  as  to  sub- 


marine boat,  30,  32,  33, 

37 

—  mventions  as  to  tor- 
pedoes, 19,  22,  30,   34, 

37,  39 

—  inventions      as      to 


twisting   ropes,    1 7 

—  letters    of,     15,     46, 

50,   70.   7i»   73.   80 

—  litigation,       83,     84, 


103 


marriage  of,   105 
mechanic,  as  a,  88 


—  money    received 
from  inventions,  39 
monument    to,    102, 


103 


partnership  with 
Chancellor  Livingston. 
40,  42,  43 

—  patents,    82 

—  patriotism,  18,  39 
proposals  to  French 


Government,  31,32,  34, 

35,  36,  50 

—  raising   funds  for 
steamboat  trials,   59-61 

—  return  to  New  York, 
55,    63 

—  school-days,  4 

—  steam  inventions,  14, 
17,  42 

—  torpedoes,  19,  22,  31, 
32,  34,  37,   64 


Gontaut,     Duchesse     de, 

24—29 
Grandsire,  Madame,  26 


Lancaster,  3 
La  Place,  M.,  36 
Legislation    as    to    steam 
navigation,  41,  61,   79, 

84 
Literary  and  Philosophical 

Society  of  N.  Y.,  108 
Little  Britain,  2 
Livingston,  Harriet,  105 
Livingston,  John,  97 
Livingston,    Chancellor 

Robert    R.,    40,    57-62, 

63,   66,  67,   69,   70,   83, 

84,   91.   96,  97,  98,   99. 

100,    106 


Index 


113 


Livingston,  Henry  Walter, 

106 
Livingston,  Walter,  105 
Ludlow,    Robert    Fulton, 

107 

M 

Manchester,  15 
Molar,  Citizen,  50 
Monge,  M.,  36 
Montgolfier,  Citizen,  50 

N 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,   31, 

34,  35,  37 
Nautilus,    the,    ;^6 
North  River,  the,  78 


Paragon,  the,  85 

Perpetual  motion  fraud, 
88 

Pitt,  Wilham,  38 

Pleville-le-Pelley,  Admi- 
ral, 36 

Portland,   Duke  of,    28 


R 

Renwick,  Professor,  76 
Revolutionary  War,  7 

S 

Schemelpeninck,  Mr.,  25, 

34 
Sidmouth,  Lord,  38 
Smith,  Mary,  2 
Stanhope,  Lord,  14,  37,  42 
Steam  inventions,   14,   17, 

42 
Steamboat,    trials  of,    59, 

6i,  65,  68 
Stevens,  W.,  91,  92,93,94 


Teviotdale,    106 

Trial  trip  Clermont,  65-68 

V 

Vesuvius,   the,    103 
Volney,  M.,  36 

W 

Watt,  John,  15 
West,  Benjamin,  8-12 


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